Neither Party Has Figured Out a Coherent Message on Abortion Republican Party - Democratic Party HEAD TOPICS

Neither Party Has Figured Out a Coherent Message on Abortion

10/21/2022 5:20:00 PM

Republicans would rather talk about crime and the economy while Democrats can t answer basic questions about limits on late-term abortions

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The Daily Beast

OPINION Democrats struggle to say whether they’re for any restrictions at all on abortion, allowing Republicans to falsely claim Democrats are for abortion until the moment of birth. Republicans would rather talk about crime and the economy while Democrats can t answer basic questions about limits on late-term abortions But losingRoeand the protections it provided women for 50 years while making the case that other, more immediate priorities should take precedence.The ad glosses over the barriers young women face in their reproductive lives compared to the freedomsChip Somodevilla/Getty RoeRoe, a world where Democrats need to be more assertive and reject language that in their view stigmatizes abortion.Anna Moneymaker/GettyPennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman was the first to create a stir last month when he said the government shouldn’t be involved in abortions. Next up was Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who was asked in a CNN interview with Dana Bash if she agreed with Fetterman. She dodged the question and wouldn’t say what, if any, legal limits on the procedure she would support. Read more:
The Daily Beast » Prankster Interrupts Herschel Walker Event To Hand Him Condoms Senate debates zero in on abortion 66 clinics stopped offering abortions after Roe was overturned Ricki Lake Reveals Tattoo She Got to Honor Her Late Husband's Memory

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Four officers have been injured after being struck by a stolen car in Queens Thursday night. Read more >> I think the CA model does just fine. Prankster Interrupts Herschel Walker Event To Hand Him CondomsThe anti-abortion Senate candidate is accused of funding an ex's abortion and has acknowledged having kids with multiple women. late to the movie. Prankster resembles someone... Senate debates zero in on abortionPolls show that since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Americans are more motivated to vote for candidates that support abortion access. 66 clinics stopped offering abortions after Roe was overturnedMore than 80% of abortion clinics in 15 states with strict abortion bans have stopped offering the procedure in the 100 days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a recent report. They want your kids to work for them Ricki Lake Reveals Tattoo She Got to Honor Her Late Husband's Memory'It's not only a message from him, but it's a message to continue loving myself' (via toofab) TooFab Lol well she's aged. 🤣 Newsom's campaign for California governor looks to futureCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom's reelection campaign is focused more on his political future and overhauling the Democratic Party 's messaging than on his race. , it showcases a young woman asking her grandmother if she’s going to vote to protest the overturning of Roe , having fought so hard for abortion rights in the past.By.— recently accused Rep.from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that support abortion rights. “Every woman has the right to choose, but it’s not 1973 anymore,” the older woman replies. “It’s so much worse,” says the granddaughter. “Worse?” grandma exclaims. Georgia : Sen. “Back then, there was no birth control. Now there are all kinds of choices women have, and many states have already legalized abortion. 2, 100 days after the decision, only 13 are providing abortions. ” But losing Roe is “such a big deal,” the young woman persists. Warnock pointed to his opponent Herschel Walker (R) when asking if Georgians wished to support someone who "wanted to control your life. “And you know what’s a bigger deal?” grandma counters: “unsafe communities, soaring prices and schools that don’t care about their kids or their parents.” It’s a clever message to pit the generations against each other, and for the generation that fought for Roe to counsel young people that GOP talking points on the economy and crime and education are more important. The ad also perpetrates a lie—that there was no birth control in 1973. Ted Budd (R-N. The “pill” debuted in 1960, and within two years, 1. State of play: Guttmacher researchers say that in the states where abortion is now unavailable, pregnant people seeking an abortion will need to , self-manage their abortion using medication, or have to continue their pregnancy. 2 million American women were taking it. Despite that blatant fabrication, the ad conveys the kind of reassurances that could influence suburban women and independents in key races that will decide control of the Senate.. It affirms the importance of Roe and the protections it provided women for 50 years while making the case that other, more immediate priorities should take precedence. “ Democrats struggle to say whether they’re for any restrictions at all on abortion, allowing Republicans to falsely claim Democrats are for abortion until the moment of birth. ” The ad glosses over the barriers young women face in their reproductive lives compared to the freedoms Roe gave their mothers and grandmothers." Beasley responded that she supports the "parameters outlined in Roe v. What they're saying: “When clinics close down or stop offering abortion care, it represents a lost source of health care for their community," said Rachel Jones, a principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has already introduced a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks, and legislators in states with abortion bans are working to curtail access to abortion pills over the counter and delivered by mail. Demonstrators gather in front of the U. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said that his Republican challenger, JD Vance, "supports a national abortion ban in which he wants women to have to get a passport and go to Canada" to access the procedure.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson on Dec. "the most barbaric pro-abortion regime. 1, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty But the mixed message in the GOP-supporting ad is emblematic of the larger issue: candidates in both parties tap-dancing around specifics to avoid looking extreme. Mandela Barnes (D) attacked Sen. Democrats struggle to say whether they’re for any restrictions at all on abortion, allowing Republicans to falsely claim Democrats are for abortion until the moment of birth. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, running for governor of Arizona, appeared stymied in a CNN interview last weekend when host Dana Bash asked her to identify any regulation she would put on abortion. Bash gave her multiple opportunities to express when the state might have legitimate oversight, and Hobbs ducked and dodged. He also said that Barnes supports "abortion right up to the moment of birth. It was painful to watch, when she could have found a safe harbor in Roe , which was the law of the land until June when the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling. “It’s very clear that third-trimester abortions require some state oversight,” says Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s governance studies program. “I don’t know why the Democrats are so scared about regulating abortion, especially in the third trimester. Democrats are pushing "for an on-demand, taxpayer-funded abortion agenda that a majority of voters disagree with," a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee told Axios. It’s nuts that they can’t answer that.” In Kamarck’s view, the 2022 midterm election is the same as 2018 and 2020: “It’s all about suburban women and what they do. That’s the swing vote. That’s why Republican candidates are trying to soften their position on abortion.” Democrats should keep it simple and say they’re for Roe , the legislative formula that worked for half a century and that allowed states to regulate abortion as long as those regulations did not impose “an undue burden” on women. Some Democrats still favor the language Bill Clinton advocated in his 1992 presidential campaign, that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” But the phrase is 30 years old now, and we’re in a different world without Roe , a world where Democrats need to be more assertive and reject language that in their view stigmatizes abortion. “We don’t need to be on the defensive,” says Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and strategist. “They’ve (conservative Supreme Court justices) taken away a freedom we had for 50 years. We should not be on the defensive here. ” She points out that Republicans are divided, with some candidates doubling down on anti-abortion policy and rhetoric, while others are scrambling to adjust their campaign pitch and appear more moderate. Abortion rights activists and anti-abortion activists demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on May 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Democrats have had their stumbles, too. “On our side, there’s no reason to get trapped by discussions about how many weeks (before fetal viability) or which regulations you support,” says Lake. “You can easily say, ‘We’re for Roe .’ Some of our candidates are getting caught flat-footed, and they shouldn’t be.” Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman was the first to create a stir last month when he said the government shouldn’t be involved in abortions. Next up was Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who was asked in a CNN interview with Dana Bash if she agreed with Fetterman. She dodged the question and wouldn’t say what, if any, legal limits on the procedure she would support. “ Republicans are divided, with some candidates doubling down on anti-abortion policy and rhetoric, while others are scrambling to adjust their campaign pitch and appear more moderate. ” Lake says these Democrats are violating a basic rule of debate: don’t let the other side set the frame. A poll that Lake’s research firm just conducted for Ms. magazine and the Feminist Majority Foundation found that 55 percent of young women voters (age 18-29) in battleground states say abortion and women’s rights combined are the top issues that will determine their votes. Only 33 percent rank inflation and rising prices as the top issues motivating their vote, with even fewer ranking climate change (9 percent) or education debt (5 percent) as their top issue. In a midterm election where a strong contrast with the other party drives turnout, Republicans are trying to back away from a national ban on abortion and, says Lake, “We have to drive that home, it’s the strongest thing we have to say.” Informing young women about the threat the GOP poses to their reproductive future is the best motivator to get them to vote. Non-college-educated white women over 50 years of age are another target group, Lake told The Daily Beast. “Half haven’t made up their mind, and they think the world is a dumpster. What worries me is they vote a Hail Mary for change—or they vote to send a message. Neither of those will be good for Democrats.” In the Facebook ad created by the conservative Independent Women’s Voice, the grandmother assures her granddaughter that they’ll both keep fighting for abortion rights, “But we must send a message on other issues hurting other people every day. And that’s what’s on my mind now.” Both sides are seeing the same data and interpreting it to advance the interests of their candidates. And the contrast between the two parties couldn’t be starker on abortion, with each side painting the other as extreme. For voters, an up or down on Roe should be easy. It’s all those other choices clouding the clarity of the June SCOTUS ruling that make next month’s election as much a challenge for the voters as it is for the ad makers. READ THIS LIST .