{"id":57422,"date":"2023-04-04T11:38:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T18:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=57422"},"modified":"2023-04-18T11:40:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T18:40:39","slug":"will-abortion-be-the-wedge-issue-in-the-2024-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=57422","title":{"rendered":"Will Abortion Be the Wedge Issue in the 2024 Elections?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_66 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_66\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/author\/peter-white\/\">Peter White<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_67 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_67\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2023-04-03T14:09:43-07:00\">Apr 3, 2023<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_68 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_68\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Seventy-five percent of voters say women and their doctors should decide; just nine percent say judges and politicians should decide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_69 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_69\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2\" title=\"abortion rights\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-696x391.jpg 696w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/abortion-rights-1068x600.jpg 1068w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" \/><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Alamy photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_70 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_70\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Polls were clear before and after the 2022 midterm election. A large majority of Americans think abortion should be legal. More than any other issue, abortion rights brought people out to vote in the last election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s decision a few months before the 2022 midterm elections was political suicide,\u201d said Suba Srinivasaraghavan, a field organizer with\u00a0<em>They See Blue\u00a0<\/em>in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>After the decision, she saw a surge in volunteering for get-out-the-vote initiatives.\u00a0\u201cMore people said \u2018yes\u2019 to field organizers, to not just go out and vote, but also to volunteer, to write cards, knock on doors and to donate to many campaigns,\u201d Srinivasaraghavan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbortion all of a sudden became front and center for many constituents and candidates alike,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget2\" title=\"Voter Demographics Show Women, Pro-choice Voters Can Make Significant Impact at Polls\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9M5l2kcxwSc?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Suba Srinivasaraghavan, field organizer, They See Blue, discusses the abortion ban backlash, and the impact pro-choice voters can have at the polls.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Enough is Enough\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>During a national briefing by Ethnic Media Services last week, five organizers explained why reproductive rights would be a top issue in the 2024 Presidential Election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVoters across the country and across the political spectrum said \u2018Enough is enough.\u2019 And in every state where abortion was on the ballot, voters supported protecting and expanding access,\u201d said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, Pro-Choice America\u2019s Vice President of Communications and Research.<\/p>\n<p>A poll conducted by Impact Research after the midterm election, found that abortion has the power to continue to drive votes in future elections. A majority (52%) of voters are concerned that Republicans will try to ban abortion care, including 74% of Black voters and 53% of non-Democrats who voted Democratic in the midterms. A plurality (48%) said they are\u00a0<em>less likely\u00a0<\/em>to support Republicans if they attempt to ban abortion care.<\/p>\n<h2>Abortion Access Inaccessible<\/h2>\n<p>Lupe Rodriguez,\u00a0National Executive Director, Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, noted that abortion care has never been accessible for women of color. \u201cAnti-abortion politicians have been working for decades to make abortion difficult to get, and the continued attacks on abortion access fall hardest on communities of color and people working to make ends meet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget4\" title=\"Latinx Community \u201cDisproportionately\u201d Exposed to Abortion Disinformation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5GkTKos1lfA?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>False claims and misinformation about abortions and people who provide them have many members of the Latina and Latinx community confused about new abortion laws and where to get healthcare, says Lupe Rodriguez, National Executive Director, Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Latina Institute and the National Partnership for Women &amp; Families released research that found that nearly 6.5 million Latinas \u2013 42 percent of all Latinas ages 15-49 \u2013 live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. They represent the largest group of women of color impacted by current or likely state bans.<\/p>\n<p>The research also found that nearly 3 million Latinas living in these states are economically insecure and don\u2019t have access to the funds they would need to travel to another state for abortion care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is upsetting, but not surprising. \u00a0Abortion bans fall hardest on Latinas and other communities of color who may work multiple jobs that provide no sick days or insurance coverage, and live in underserved communities,\u201d said Rodriguez.<\/p>\n<h2>Radical Judges<\/h2>\n<p>Although abortion is supported by a majority of voters in both major parties, Republican Party officials have distanced themselves from their membership and paid a price. Women organizing for autonomy and the right to choose say they will pay again in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRadical judges and politicians are taking away our fundamental rights to make decisions about if, when, and how we have a family, and we\u2019re not going to take that sitting down. We will fight, organize, and build power, and vote until we can make our own decisions again,\u201d said Yvonne Hsu<strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>a policy chief with the National Asian Pacific American Women\u2019s Forum (NAPAWF).<\/p>\n<p>Hsu said that Asian American women and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) find themselves in a place \u201cwhere the clocks have literally been turned back against us\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget6\" title=\"Abortion Bans Exacerbate Cultural, Economic Barriers AAPI Women Face When Accessing Care\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mg31KDkNHNo?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Abortion restrictions will make accessing abortion care more difficult, and in some cases impossible, for AAPI women, says Yvonne Hsu, Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer, National Asian Pacific American Women\u2019s Forum (NAPAWF).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Abortion Bans<\/h2>\n<p>In June 2022, by a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization which held women do not have a constitutional right to abortion. Since then, state legislatures have enacted abortion bans in 14 states and restricted them in 12 others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Dobbs decision has been yet another blow to AAPI women seeking abortion care by creating a landscape where states have been emboldened to enact their own abortion restrictions or bans,\u201d Hsu said.<\/p>\n<p>Hsu noted that cultural, economic, and logistical barriers for AAPI community members, especially those working in frontline service jobs, makes traveling and getting an abortion often difficult, if not impossible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese impacts on the AAPI community have fueled NAPAWF\u2019s work galvanizing Asian American women voters in critical states like Florida, Georgia, and Texas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h2>The Abortion Pill<\/h2>\n<p>Currently, battles continue in a number of states about access to medication abortions. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol accounted for more than half of all facility-based abortions in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>A Texas lawsuit could stop access to abortion pills nationwide if it succeeds in reversing the FDA\u2019s approval of mifepristone. In North Carolina and West Virginia<\/p>\n<p>abortion rights advocates have filed lawsuits challenging restrictions on access to abortion pills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur partners across the country are faced with ensuring their communities have access to reproductive healthcare including, safe and affordable abortion care, while also responding to other community needs,\u201d said Ebony Baylor, Vice President of Government Affairs, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women\u2019s Reproductive Justice Agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Baylor said Black women do not live single-issue lives and when thinking about who best represents them, they consider many factors.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget8\" title=\"Abortion Restrictions Worsen Black Maternal Care Crisis\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xC_F2wTVh5Q?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Ebony Baylor, VP of Government Affairs, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women\u2019s Reproductive Justice Agenda, says denying women, especially Black women, access to abortion care will worsen America\u2019s already high maternal mortality rate.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Voter Suppression<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOur civil and human rights are being attacked from all sides \u2013 lack of access to health care, clean water, child care, social justice, and more are all things Black women think about when facing crucial decisions about their lives, families, and communities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Access to the ballot box remains a big issue for Black women voters, says Baylor. \u201cVoter suppression and subversion laws are being introduced by elected leaders in state houses across the country at an alarming rate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>How significant will reproductive rights be in 2024? Baylor noted that Black voters are not single-issue voters but abortion rights is going to be an important issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a deciding factor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_separator td_block_wrap vc_separator tdi_74 td_separator_solid td_separator_center\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ByPeter White Apr 3, 2023 Seventy-five&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57423,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57422\/revisions\/57423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}