22win America’s Split Screen on Abortion

Updated:2024-11-11 03:28    Views:100

In the first few elections after the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade22win, the abortion rights movement created reason for hope among its supporters: It won a string of unexpected victories in ballot measures from conservative states like Kansas and Ohio to moderate ones like Michigan.

Then came Nov. 5.

On Election Day, the movement hit a ceiling. Voters said yes to measures to protect abortion access in seven states, including Arizona, Missouri and Nevada. But three other measures failed — including one in Florida, which had strong majority support but couldn’t clear the state’s unusual 60 percent threshold for passage.

And from the point of view of both supporters and opponents of abortion rights, the most important result of the night was the loss of Kamala Harris, who ran on defending abortion access, to Donald Trump, who said of Roe’s reversal, “I’m proud to have done it.” “Remember when the overturning of Roe was supposed to cause a landslide Democrat victory?” Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, shared on X. “Lol.”

The distinction voters made between abortion as a stand-alone issue and abortion as a factor in deciding who should lead the country was clear in states like Montana, Florida, Missouri and Nevada. Trump won these states even as abortion rights measures also commanded majorities.

ImageAhead of Election Day, medical professionals prepare to canvas in support of Florida’s Amendment 4, which would have created a constitutional right to abortion in the state.Credit...Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

In a sense, it’s not surprising that the democratic process would yield mixed and even contradictory results. Many of Harris’s supporters cared deeply about abortion rights. But for the electorate at large, the issue was one among many to consider in deciding whom to vote for, ranking below the economy, crime, immigration and other concerns. “It wasn’t a top issue for the country,” said Tresa Undem of the public opinion research firm PerryUndem. “It was a top issue for certain groups, like women of reproductive age.”

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