Democrats put the spotlight on abortion once again with a series of speakers who lead pro-abortion rights organizations. The issue was a motivator for voters in the 2022 midterms, the first to take place after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and Democrats are hoping it will again help propel their candidates to victory in November.
“When abortion is on the ballot, we win,” said Minnie Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, before ticking off the seven states where the pro-abortion rights position succeeded when the issue was directly on the ballot in 2022.
Voters in at least eight states will have the chance to weigh in on abortion ballot measures in November. The second night of the convention featured remarks from several women who spoke about their experiences in states with abortion restrictions.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, recalled a pregnant woman from Georgia who had to fly to California to get an abortion, and warned of the health care landscape in states with near-total bans or stringent restrictions.
“We cannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said.
Former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said politics shouldn’t interfere with a patient’s health care.
“When women are free to make their own decisions about their lives and follow our dreams, we are unstoppable,” she said. “But when Roe v. Wade was overturned, a generation of women lost that freedom.”
Jessica Mackler, who leads EMILYs List, recited from Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in the case that unwinded the constitutional right to abortion, in which he wrote, “Women are not without electoral or political power.”
“Donald Trump and Republicans are about to find out just how true that is,” Mackler said. “The opportunity is before us. The power is in our hands, and the time is now.”