Despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, not only do most Americans still support legal access to abortion, but a new poll shows that the vast majority of them also fear that patients and doctors could face criminal charges for having, offering, or performing the procedure.
The 19th News reports that a Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) poll found that 80% of Americans believe that domestic abuse survivors could be reported for having abortions by their abusers; 80% of people could be investigated by law enforcement for stillbirths or miscarriages; 75% of people believe that those who have abortions could be charged with a felony or sent to jail; and 81% of people fear that medical professionals could be charged for terminating a pregnancy.
Betsy App, the lead analyst at Change Research who conducted the poll for PPFA, told 19th News, “We were particularly interested in consequences of abortion bans and both how concerning to people, as well as how likely they think these consequences are to happen.”
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“That’s really unique coming out of this, out of the survey. People could say that they’re really concerned about doctors and nurses being charged with a felony. If they don’t think that this is likely to happen, then who cares? But what we’re seeing is that Americans do — two-thirds or more of Americans do think that these consequences are likely to occur,” App said.
The issue of abortion has long divided the nation. A Pew Research poll found that 61% of Americans support legal abortion, while Republicans remain steadfast in their efforts to limit it further.
Apparently Republicans didn’t get the message in the midterm elections, where the promised red wave never appeared. Instead, the RNC passed a resolution on Monday promising to go even further on abortion restrictions.
“Instead of fighting back and exposing Democratic extremism on abortion, many Republican candidates failed to remind Americans of our proud heritage of challenging slavery, segregation, and the forces eroding the family and the sanctity of human life, thereby allowing Democrats to define our longtime position,” in the resolution’s words.
The resolution plans to hit the topic in two ways. One, “go on the offense,” and two, “The Republican National Committee urges all Republican pro-life candidates, consultants, and other national Republican Political Action Committees to remember this proud heritage, go on offense in the 2024 election cycle, and expose the Democrats’ extreme position of supporting abortion on-demand up until the moment of birth, paid for by the taxpayers, even supporting discriminatory abortions such as gender selection or when the child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome.”
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But try as they may, the American people and Democratic lawmakers are working to defeat the Republicans’ efforts to further anti-abortion policies.
Virginia Senate Democrats defeated a series of bills recently, effectively killing a proposed 15-week ban put forth by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Associated Press reports.
Youngkin has made it his mission to push his pro-life agenda. Macaulay Porter, Youngkin’s spokesperson, claimed that Senate Democrats had “solidified their extreme position” and were not in step with the beliefs of Virginians who want “a reasonable compromise.”
In a news conference, Sen. L. Louise Lucas said, “The truth is, as long as Senate Democrats have our majority, the brick wall will stand strong and these extreme bills will never pass.”
In Minnesota, the Senate voted Saturday to pass a measure that would preserve the right to an abortion and other reproductive health care procedures in the state.
The Twin Cities reports that the bill will head to the office of Gov. Tim Walz, who said he intends to sign the bill.
The Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act says, “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health.” This includes the full spectrum of reproductive health care: contraception, fertility services, and abortions.
The chief sponsor of the PRO Act is Sen. Jennifer McEwen of Duluth. During the hours of debate on the measure, she said. “[We have] a duty to truly protect those reproductive freedoms, to enshrine them, not just in case law, but also in our statutory law … These are our values.”
Although it sometimes gets lost, the issue of keeping abortion safe and legal is at the heart of health care for Black and brown women, particularly those living in states where it’s more challenging to get the care.
Black women have the highest rates of maternal mortality and pregnancy complications and those risks will only rise if they’re unable to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
“In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women,” according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
Did the battle over reproductive rights motivate you to vote in the midterms? Will it be a factor for you in the 2024 election?
