Abortion bans are unpopular, and voters are taking the laws into their own hands.
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, abortion rights advocates have won in seven out of seven abortion-related ballot measures,” a Mother Jones article noted on May 4, 2024 (read it here). Those ballot victories were in California (no surprise), Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont.
More states will vote on abortion rights this fall, and public support for these initiatives is strong. Petitions in South Dakota and Missouri already have far more signatures than needed, and signature drives are underway in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada.
After Roe v. Wade was scrapped and many Republican-dominated legislatures enacted draconian anti-abortion laws, horror stories began to emerge like the case of a 10-year-old rape victim. Some of these laws even target abortions in other states. In Idaho, which has one of the most stringent bans, doctors are leaving that state and maternity wards have closed (see story here).
It’s hard to say what abortion is costing Republicans in elections. NPR says it’s complicated because voters are influenced by other issues (see story here). But it clearly was a major issue in the 2022 elections (see CBS News story here). What’s certain is the Republican Party underperformed in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections.
Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in American politics. It’s not an issue that lends itself to compromise; people either support or oppose abortion rights, so it comes down to which side has more votes. That appears to be the pro-choice side. Its 7-for-7 batting average says so.
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