No, We Don't Need 'Pro-Life' Democrats
9.22.25
Click to skip ahead: No, We Don’t Need ‘Pro-Life’ Democrats takes on Ezra Klein’s latest advice. Ballot Box looks at abortion as a top election issue in Nevada, Maine, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Keep An Eye On reminds folks that this week kicks off 40 Days for Life. In the States, news from North Carolina, Colorado, Kentucky, California, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas. WHEW! In Anti-Abortion Strategy, Americans United for Life says women shouldn’t go to jail for abortions because they’re too dumb to understand what abortion is. (Just barely exaggerating.) And In the Nation, a few quick hits.
No, We Don’t Need ‘Pro-Life’ Democrats
Why is it that whenever Democrats are losing, pundits crawl out of the woodwork to suggest we throw women’s rights under the bus? We go through this every few years, when political talking heads—most often men—will insist we need a “bigger tent” on abortion rights. It’s fucking exhausting.
Most recently, it’s Ezra Klein—who says if we want to defeat fascism, we have to embrace “pro-life Democrats.”
In a chat with his New York Times colleague Ross Douthat, Ezra argued that Democrats need to take “political positions that’ll make it more likely to win Senate seats in Kansas and Ohio and Missouri.”
To him, that means “trying to open your coalition to people you didn’t want it open to before—running pro-life Democrats.”
Let’s leave aside for a moment that there’s no such thing as ‘winning’ when half the population aren’t seen as full legal human beings. The states Ezra points to all had massive pro-choice victories in just the last few years!
In 2022, Kansas voters crushed an anti-abortion ballot measure. Ohio passed an abortion rights amendment in 2023. And Missouri? You guessed it! Voters passed Amendment 3 this past November. (In fact, Missouri Republicans are so well-aware that abortion rights are a winning issue that they’re trying to trick voters into passing a ban by calling it Amendment 3.)
So, yeah, Ezra’s comments are frustrating. Not just because of how casually women’s humanity gets dismissed as a political bargaining chip, but because he’s so confident and so wrong.
Case in point—everything that follows in the next section.
Ballot Box
Nevada Democrats are going all in on abortion rights for 2026: Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is running for governor, says that if elected, he’ll ensure the state “remains a firewall, not just in name, but in practice.”
“That means protecting abortion access, safeguarding IVF, keeping politicians out of private medical decisions,” he says. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is doing what most GOP candidates are doing on abortion rights: pretending to be moderate.
And while abortion has dropped as a top issue for voters over the last two years, Democrats know it’ll be front and center again soon—because it’s going back on the ballot.
Voters passed Question 6 in 2024, but the measure has to win one more time in 2026 to be added to the state constitution. (Abortion is already legal in Nevada, but pro-choice lawmakers want to lock in another layer of protection.)
New Jersey just hosted the first gubernatorial debate between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and anti-abortion extremist Jack Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli supports a 20-week abortion ban—but insists that it’s somehow not a ban. (Where have we seen this trick before? Oh right, every GOP candidate running since Dobbs!)
Sherrill, on the other hand, clearly knows where voters are—and showed as much in her opening statement: “He’ll support abortion bans. I’ll support your personal freedoms.”
Pennsylvania voters will weigh in on the state Supreme Court this November, which means you can expect GOP PACs to invest some serious cash in the race. (Remember, Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court election in 2023 set new spending records.) Ms. magazine has a good breakdown of what’s at stake, for those interested in learning more.
We’ll also be watching Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial campaign, which will inevitably place Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s anti-abortion record front and center. Like every other Republican running, Garrity is now pretending to be moderate on the issue—focusing on her support for ‘exceptions’.
At least one Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate is being honest about where he stands: The Maine Beacon reports that David Jones “lamented that public opinion would prevent passage of a law ‘arresting a woman or arresting a doctor for performing it’.” Charming.
Just a reminder that over two-thirds of Maine voters support a right to abortion. So, good luck to him!
Keep An Eye On: 40 Days for Life
As if political violence weren’t already a massive concern across the country, this week kicks off the anti-abortion movement’s highly-disruptive mass protest event: 40 Days for Life.
As the name suggests, anti-abortion protesters camp out at clinics every day for 40 days and perform a range of physically obstructive—sometimes violent—acts to try to block people from obtaining care. If you ask anti-abortion activists of course, they’ll claim that they just peacefully pray outside of clinics.
What makes this year important? It’s the first time the campaign is taking place since Donald Trump pardoned two dozen extremists convicted of violating the FACE Act—the federal law that prohibits blocking or doing violence to a reproductive health clinic. His administration didn’t stop there: just days after Trump’s inauguration, Vice President JD Vance told the March for Life in Washington, DC that anyone who harasses patients or attacks clinics will “never have the government go after them ever again.”
To put it plainly, the White House gave dangerous anti-abortion maniacs the green light to harass providers and patients—and did so at a time when violence against clinics is on the rise:
All of this is to say: Stay safe, and keep your eyes peeled. If you see signs of anti-abortion activists in your community being more disruptive than usual—or if you spot anything unusual or worth passing on—be sure to let us know at tips@abortioneveryday.com. And maybe consider showing a little extra love and support to your local abortion providers.
In the States
Let’s check in on how different states are responding to the recent court ruling allowing Republicans (at least for now) to strip reproductive health providers of Medicaid reimbursements.
In North Carolina, state legislators aren’t waiting to see what happens in the courts with the federal law—Republicans are moving to ban Planned Parenthood from participating in the state Medicaid program now.
Sen. Amy Galey, who sponsored House Bill 192, said, “The reason that I don't think that Planned Parenthood should be providing these services is because I think that they indoctrinate.” (Bold words from the MAGA party!)
Paige Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, told legislators that the bill would cause incredible harm to low-income residents:
“Cancers will go undetected, STIs will go untreated, and people will not be able to get the birth control they need to plan their families and their futures—and this will be on you.”
Naturally, Sen. Galey responded that people can still get those services—just not at Planned Parenthood. As we noted on Friday, this is Republicans’ latest move: claiming that there are plenty of other providers—including crisis pregnancy centers—that can help. (I’d laugh if I wasn’t screaming.)
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado was forced to cancel thousands of appointments for birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings, and pap smears. “Our patients across the state are scared,” says President Adrienne Mansanares.
“They don't know if they can still access care at Planned Parenthood. We're still receiving calls every day from patients asking if their Medicaid is accepted.”
Thankfully, the state recently passed a bill to cover patient visits with state funds—but Mansanares and other advocates question the sustainability of providing care for all without any federal funds.
“When I go to Planned Parenthood, I'm not making a political statement,” Smith said. “I'm just trying to get the care I need to stay healthy, so that I can be the best mom I can for my kids.”
- Lilly Boyd Smith, Colorado Planned Parenthood patient
In Kentucky, Planned Parenthood centers are standing firm, maintaining they have no plans to close their doors—and noting that they’ve been preparing for this outcome since 2022. Affiliate CEO Rebecca Gibron says Kentucky Medicaid patients will receive free service through at least September as the organization works on fundraising to fill any gaps.
And those gaps could be significant: More than half of Planned Parenthood patients in the state fall below the poverty line, and 36% rely on Medicaid.
While we’re on Kentucky: You may remember that in 2022, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear defeated a Republican challenger by focusing on abortion rights. In fact, his win was largely credited to a campaign ad featuring a young woman named Hadley Duvall—who spoke about being raped and impregnated by her stepfather as a 12-year-old.
Now, Beshear is encouraging Missouri Democrats to stand just as resolute on the issue:
“I am living, breathing proof that we as Democrats, when we run the right way, can win anywhere. And what's important about winning is, when Democrats win, we do something Republicans can't: We govern well.”
California just expanded its shield law to allow providers to keep their names off prescription labels for abortion pills. Now, pro-choice activists are talking about other ways the state can help—like by protecting patients’ medical records.
Over at the San Francisco Chronicle, Dr. Suzan Goodman—co-founder of the Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare (TEACH) program at UCSF—points out the danger for patients whose medical records are available on digital platforms.
“We have had cases where patients were in California, and were patients within California, and then go back home to a state where their medical record of their abortion is transparent across state lines.”
Meanwhile, Ohio Republicans are still trying to ban abortion—two years after voters decisively passed a pro-choice ballot measure. (Seriously, Attorney General Dave Yost’s office has been at this for a while.)
While GOP leaders admit that their 6-week ban is now unconstitutional, they’re still trying to uphold certain pieces of the same law—like onerous TRAP laws. Anti-abortion politicians’ refusal to take ‘no’ for an answer is utterly exhausting.
Speaking of asshole Attorney Generals, surely you remember Indiana AG Todd Rokita. Famous for his wildly creepy efforts to make patients’ abortion records public, Rokita also used the power of his office to harass OBGYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard for over a year. The doctor‘s ‘crime’? She spoke out about abortion bans, and shared that the law was forcing raped children to leave their home states for care.
Rokita faced disciplinary charges after smearing Bernard in 2022 as an "abortion activist acting as a doctor—with a history of failure to report.” After agreeing to a public reprimand, the Republican AG went on to publicly complain that he was forced to sign the affidavit.
So now he’s facing another disciplinary charge by the state Supreme Court’s disciplinary commission, accusing him of “[engaging] in dishonest behavior.” Rokita’s attorneys are trying to cancel and upcoming hearing over the charges, but we’ll be paying close attention.
Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico says in an interview with Newsweek that his party has "forgotten how to fight." If Talarico’s name sounds familiar, it may be because his viral moments have landed him in the national spotlight. I’ve been particularly interested to hear his thoughts on abortion. You know something has to be good for me to share a Joe Rogan clip, but I do think this one is worth it:
Anti-Abortion Strategy
Even when anti-abortion activists try to say something nominally pro-woman, they can’t help but fuck it up.
Take this column from Clarke Forsythe at the National Review. The Americans United for Life (AUL) attorney argues that Republicans should stop proposing legislation to punish abortion patients—but not because it’s immoral to jail someone for their healthcare choices, but because women are essentially too clueless to really understand what an abortion is.
That’s only barely an exaggeration. Leaning on the anti-abortion movement’s message du jour—coercion—Forsythe argues that most women don’t really want abortions, or aren’t able to make a fully informed decision.
We’ve seen this strategy before: it’s the same condescending logic behind “Women’s Right to Know” laws, like ultrasound mandates and waiting periods. The whole premise is that women are too dense to grasp that abortion ends a pregnancy.
But Forsythe says something else worth flagging—especially given his role at AUL, the most powerful anti-abortion policy shop in the country. He admits that prosecuting women wouldn’t just seriously alienate voters, it would undercut the movement itself.
Women would be too afraid to go to crisis pregnancy centers—which would be “seen as centers for the collection of evidence against women.” And the “post-abortive women” the movement counts on to talk about how much they regret their decision? They’d stay quiet too—because no one is going to confess to a crime on the record.
At the end of the day, he writes, “Advocates of prosecution need to decide whether they want to punish women or reduce elective abortion.”
Here’s the thing: I think Forsythe may just find that most of his colleagues will choose the former.
In the Nation
Republicans are trying whatever they can to blame the OBGYN exodus on anything other than abortion bans;
NBC News digs into the red/blue state divide, including on abortion;
I love this “pillboard” from UK repro rights group MSI;
The Atlantic on “What Women Wish They’d Known Before Trying to Get Pregnant”;
And the San Francisco Chronicle has an important piece about the women who are miscarrying in ICE detention centers.
“We’re talking about health care for service members who have donned the uniform, been willing to be in harm’s way to defend our nation. I think the very least we can do is allow our service members, our troops, to make their own decisions about their own bodies.”
- Sen. Tammy Baldwin, urging the VA not to move forward with the Trump administration’s plan to ban abortion for veterans who’ve been raped or have life-threatening pregnancies
I am sick of men who are howling and whining about fascism because their rights are threatened, but who are perfectly willing to give up our rights.
Well, we have pro-life Democrats in what should be the true meaning of the phrase. In other words, we have Dems who are pro gun control, pro-universal health care, pro universal pre-K, pro-childcare support for those in need...you know, pro-life.