Will Young Pro-Choicers Save Us in November?

8.29.24

Click to skip ahead: In Language Matters, more on ‘ban’ and how Republicans’ plan is working. In Criminalization, all eyes on Alabama. In the States, news from Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, Oklahoma, California and Florida. Ballot Measure Updates from Missouri, New York and Florida. Care Crisis highlights a piece about the politics around abortion care nurses. In the Nation, some quick hits. In 2024 news, more proof that abortion wins elections. And in Stats & Studies, a look at younger voters.

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Language Matters

Donald Trump’s move to make voters believe that he’s somehow moderate on abortion rights seems to be working—and in battleground states, no less. Sigh.

I wrote earlier this week about the word ‘ban’ and how JD Vance used anti-abortion rhetorical trickery to claim that Trump opposes a national ban. (I also did a semi-viral thread on it if you’re interested.) Unfortunately, mainstream media outlets fell for it, and we saw dozens of headlines repeating that lie. I’ve said it many times, but I truly believe that the only way that Trump will be able to convince voters that he’s ‘moderate’ on abortion is if American media coverage continues to repeat his lies unchecked.

Now, a new report from Navigator Research indicates that all that work Republicans are doing to confuse voters on Trump’s abortion stance is likely working. The report looked at what battleground state voters think about Project 2025, and what their big concerns are (and aren’t). While these voters understood that most of the conservative attacks outlined in Project 2025 were more likely than not to be implemented should Trump be elected, they were evenly split on a national abortion ban.

Sixteen percent of battleground voters believed a national abortion is one of the most likely outcomes, while 16% believed it would be one of the least likely outcomes. In other words, voters in key states are concerned about most kinds of conservative attacks, but their fears over a national ban seem to be on the fence.

Veronica Ingham, senior campaign director at Free & Just, tells Abortion, Every Day that “anti-abortion extremists want it both ways—they want a ban but they don't want people to KNOW they want a ban.” And, Ingham says, “frankly, the press needs to be clearer and understand their complicity when they repeat conservative lies without context or critical examination.”

Essentially, Republicans are successfully muddying the conversation and confusing voters. And if political reporters don’t stop taking Trump’s word for it, they could very well help him win the election.

Criminalization

All eyes should be on Alabama right now, where a legal battle continues on over whether the state can prosecute abortion rights activists for helping women get out-of-state care. Remember, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argued in a court filing that groups helping people leave the state for abortion are participating in a “criminal conspiracy.” Under Marshall’s interpretation of the law, even telling someone about a clinic where they could get care would be a crime: 

“One cannot seriously doubt that the State can prevent a mobster from asking a hitman to kill a rival because the agreement occurred through spoken word. So too here for conspiracies to obtain an elective abortion.”

In the same brief, Marshall argued that the state could restrict pregnant women’s travel if it wanted to.

In response, the Yellowhammer Fund and the West Alabama Women’s Center brought a case to preemptively ask the court to ensure that the state could not target them for simply sharing information about how or where to get an abortion. We’re waiting on a federal judge’s ruling in the case (which obviously has serious national implications).

Last week, the Department of Justice filed a brief in support of Alabama abortion rights activists, arguing that Marshall’s threat of using conspiracy charges against activists violate a “bedrock principle of American constitutional law: states cannot punish their residents for traveling to another state to engage in conduct that is lawful in that state.”

I’m very worried about the right to travel and government restrictions on pregnant people’s ability to leave their states. It’s one of those things that too many people seem to think could never happen—but as I wrote earlier this week, it already is.

In the States

Sticking with abortion and travel for a moment, Harper’s Bazaar has a terrific piece on the abortion funds and organizations in Texas that are helping teenagers to leave the state for abortion care. Teenagers have always been disproportionately impacted by abortion restrictions, but it’s gotten exponentially worse post-Roe. States like Idaho and Tennessee have passed ‘abortion trafficking’ laws that make it illegal to help teens get abortions, and minors’ bodies are being treated as political weapons.

And, as the activists interviewed this piece point out, the chilling effect of these attacks often meant that young people are too afraid to seek out the care they want and need. (One 2023 study found that nearly a quarter of Texas women believe that it’s illegal for them to leave the state for an abortion.)

From Ariana Rodriguez, youth advocacy and community engagement manager at Jane’s Due Process:

“Young people see one scary headline and they’re led to believe that they can’t access the care that they want. We remind teens that they have the right to travel and make those decisions for themselves.”

As you know, Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period was repealed thanks to Issue 1, the new constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. As great as that’s been for patients—out-of-state abortion seekers are already heading to Ohio for care, knowing they don’t have to take multiple days off from work—the legal battle may not be done yet.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost says he plans to appeal the decision that repealed Ohio’s waiting period. Most incredibly, he has the nerve to cite women’s health and safety. In a press release, Yost’s office said the waiting period and other restrictions “are essential safety features designed to ensure that women receive proper care and make voluntary decisions.”

Pay attention to that line about “voluntary decisions.” I’ve been flagging how Republicans are ramping up their use of ‘coerced abortions’ as an excuse for restrictions. They think it’s their best bet to appear pro-woman even as they strip away our rights.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Republicans are so afraid of abortion rights backlash, they’ve attacking Kaitlyn Joshua—the woman who came forward about being turned away from two different hospitals while she was miscarrying. Joshua has been sharing her story all around the country, most recently at the DNC, and it’s clearly struck a nerve.

Louisiana Rep. Mandie Landry reveals at MSNBC that after Joshua appeared at the convention, state Attorney General Liz Murrill essentially called her a liar, claiming that there’s nothing in their ban that stops hospitals from treating patients. This, from a woman who wrote a letter to the state medical society that threatened doctors’ “liberty and medical license” should they provide abortions!

Louisiana Right to Life also insisted that Joshua’s experience had nothing to do with the state’s abortion ban, and accused the DNC of “utilizing a tragic story to elicit confusion and disapproval for pro-life laws.” But Rep. Landry gets it exactly right:

“What women like Joshua know, and what Murrill and the Louisiana Right to Life don’t want to admit, is that we have unusable laws, drafted purposely to prevent any abortion, for any reason.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times over: the women coming forward with these personal stories are scaring the shit out of Republicans, and they’re our best weapons. (That’s why we need to make sure that abortion storytellers are getting all of the support that they need.)

Kylie Cheung at Jezebel caught this absolutely wild quote from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida: “Democrats are extreme. They support allowing a baby born, healthy, born alive, to just cry itself to death. It’s extreme, you just can’t believe it.”

So this is where we are, huh? It’s not just that Republicans are claiming there’s such a thing as ‘post-birth abortion,’ but that post-birth abortion means a baby crying itself to death? I truly cannot believe that these are the assholes who get to have a say over our bodies.

Oklahoma Republicans have increased funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers six-fold, continuing a trend we’ve seen in anti-choice states across the country. As has been the case in other states, Republican leaders claim that the money is earmarked for women and families, even as study after study shows that the tangible support women get from centers is negligible. Most of the money goes towards salaries and ‘marketing,’ when we’re able to find out where the funding goes at all—because remember, there is little accountability or regulation for these centers.

Finally, some good news out of California, where the state legislature just approved a bill that requires large group health plans to cover IVF and fertility healthcare. State Senator Caroline Menjivar, who authored Senate Bill 729, says, “California Legislature has affirmed we are the torch bearers of reproductive freedom.” The legislation will now head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Quick hits:

• How Kansas’ abortion laws could depend on whether Democrats can break the GOP supermajority;

• Center for Reproductive Rights looks at three years with Texas’ abortion ban;

• And more on the Title X funding that Tennessee lost because of its refusal to share information with patients about abortion.

“Access has always been an issue in this country, and access is not what’s being discussed. It’s legality, and we know we need so much more beyond legality. While we’re waiting for whoever to be elected and Congress to pass whatever and ‘I’m going to sign this the minute it’s on my desk.’ That is going to take a long time. And what are we doing as a country? What are we doing as a community to address the real needs that people have right now?”

- Megan Jeyifo, Chicago Abortion Fund interviewed by WBEZ (in a piece you should absolutely read)

Ballot Measure Updates

A new survey in Missouri finds that 52% of likely voters support protecting abortion rights in the state constitution. Unsurprisingly, support for the pro-choice amendment was highest among Democrats and women—younger women, especially. The Saint Louis University and YouGov survey also found that 14% of voters are unsure about the measure while 34% reported opposing it.

That’s good news, but there are hurdles beyond popular support. As we’ve seen in every other state considering an abortion rights amendment, Missouri Republicans spent months trying to keep the measure off the ballot. Anti-abortion groups even sent text messages to voters claiming that pro-choice petitioners were trying to steal their identity. This week, I also told you about a new lawsuit seeking to stop the measure from getting to voters or nullifying the amendment should it pass.

This would be worrying enough on its own, but the conservative legal group behind the suit, the Thomas More Society, is making noise about bringing similar legal challenges in other states. Attorney Mary Catherine Martin told the Baptist Press that the organization is investigating the other measures heading to state ballots in November, and that they’re “very excited about the opportunity to take this fight to the states.”

The Missouri suit argues that the amendment violates the state constitution’s single subject rule, because it would protect abortion rights and the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom”—which the group claims is “unlimited in scope.” And remember, we also saw a similar suit brought against the ballot measure in Nebraska this week. So it’s clear that anti-abortion groups are already mobilizing to undermine voters’ voices.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups in New York are trying to fire up opposition to Proposal One, the equal rights amendment on the ballot in November, by stoking anti-trans bigotry. It’s a strategy we’ve seen before: Conservatives realize that abortion rights are incredibly popular, so they’re hoping that throwing anti-trans and ‘parents’ rights’ talking points into the mix might give them a better chance of winning.

From Sasha Ahuja, campaign director with New Yorkers for Equal Rights (who will be penning a guest post for us next week!):

“That narrative is one that's being pushed by extremists who are using a small handful of innocent kids as political pawns. They're trying to divide and distract New Yorkers from what this amendment is actually about. It's about guaranteeing our personal freedoms and protecting the right to abortion.”

Finally, you know that Abortion, Every Day has been paying close attention to the ballot measure in fight in Florida. The state was a hub for abortion care access, and since Republicans enacted a 6-week ban, the impact has been felt all around the country. Unlike measures in other states, which generally have to win just over half of voters’ support, Florida needs 60% to pass Amendment 4.

This week, model and philanthropist Karlie Kloss brought national attention to the measure by writing an op-ed in support of Amendment 4 in the Miami Herald. (This is how you use your platform!) Kloss shares that she visited with patients at a Florida clinic, including a woman who cried as she explained that she already four children, one of whom was disabled and needed around-the-clock care. Absolutely wrenching. The piece is worth a read in its entirely, but this was my favorite bit:

“Women deserve access to healthcare without government interference or fear of being harmed. We deserve to live in dignity and determine our own futures, not be diminished and degraded by arbitrary timelines and abortion bans.”

Care Crisis

Rewire has a really interesting piece about the shortage of abortion nurses and the activists who are trying to fill that gap. Part of the issue is that because most nurses don’t get abortion care training, silence on the issue means that even those who would otherwise be interested in reproductive healthcare don’t really hear about it. If abortion was just a normal part of the curricula, nurses would be more likely to see it as a normal part of healthcare—which it is!

Something else really interesting: While the abortion rights movement isn’t doing enough to reach nurses, the anti-abortion movement very much is. Monica McLemore, a registered nurse and professor at the University of Washington, tells Rewire that anti-abortion groups have long done strategic outreach to nurses—essentially using them as foot soldiers in criminalization:

“Nursing is ground zero. Nurses have been long identified by the Charlotte Lozier Institute and the Susan B. Anthony group and all the anti-abortion people as the discipline to be able to operationalize anti-abortion rhetoric. So you’ve got nurses calling CPS [Child Protective Services] and the police on our patients. And they think that is our job.”

We’ve seen this again and again when it comes to abortion criminalization; when women are turned in for self-managing abortions, for example, it’s most often a healthcare provider who calls law enforcement. So it makes sense that we’d try to make inroads here to change the tide.

In the Nation

• Sarah Jones at New York Magazine on “The ‘Pro-Life’ Policies Hurting Women;”

• An interesting piece at The Conversation argues silent prayer outside of abortion clinics is reproductive coercion;

• MSNBC with a segment on how the Trump campaign is panicking over abortion rights;

• And I really appreciated this Ms. magazine piece from Lynn Paltrow, founder of Pregnancy Justice, who warns against relying on language like ‘decisions’ when talking about reproductive healthcare because it “unintentionally reinforces the profoundly misleading idea that pregnancy is something human beings can completely control through deliberate and informed decision-making.” 

2024

There’s a reason Republicans are running scared on abortion rights: voters are pissed and messaging that draws attention to candidates’ anti-abortion extremism works. The latest proof of that comes to us from North Carolina’s gubernatorial race. Axios points out that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson took a big and immediate polling hit after his opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein, ran an ad reminding voters what Robinson said about abortion:

“Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It's about killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down."

Charming! Remember how Robinson later put out an ad with his wife about when she needed an abortion? All to undo the damage of that nasty quote? I sure do!

Meanwhile, anti-abortion leaders continue to claim that they’re furious over Trump claiming he wouldn’t support a national abortion ban. (Anti-abortion extremist Lila Rose has been particularly energetic in her criticism.) But I still think this is a long con. We saw it happen with the GOP platform already! What better way to make voters think that Trump/Vance would be soft on abortion rights than by having anti-abortion groups feign outrage!

Stats & Studies

Are young people going to save us come November? I sure hope so! We know that younger folks are the most pro-choice demographic in the country. According to Pew, 74% of adults under 30 believe abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances, and nearly 40% believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances. A 2023 poll from Harvard University’s Institute of Politics found that adults under 30 were twice as likely to describe themselves as ‘pro-choice’ than ‘pro-life. Finally, earlier this month, a Navigator survey found that two in three younger Americans agree that abortion should be generally legal.

All of which is to say: young people get it. But will they vote? A poll put out last year seems to indicate yes. Tufts University’s “Youth and the 2024 Election” found that abortion is a top five issue for young people. And while the top issue for younger voters is the economy—wages, inflation, jobs, etc—the researchers acknowledge that their poll doesn’t really account for the ways that the issues intersect. (For example, we know that abortion is very much an economic issue.)

But here’s the really hopeful part: the respondents who care about abortion rights are also some of the most likely to vote. 70% of young people who prioritized abortion in their top three most important election issues said they’re extremely likely to vote in 2024.

So when you hear people complaining about youth’s supposed political apathy, make sure to set them straight. (Seriously, they were saying this about my generation, too, when I was in my 20s. It’s exhausting.)