How abortion became an ‘Achilles heel’ for US Republicans

Polls and past election results show abortion issues hurt Republicans at the ballot, which may affect the 2024 race.

By Ali Harb
23 Jun 2023

Washington, DC – Be careful what you wish for, the old adage goes.

One year after conservatives in the United States fulfilled their decades-long goal of overturning the constitutional right to abortion, Republican politicians are facing setbacks over the issue.

Abortion bans and restrictions are not popular among Americans, and those championing them are paying electorally.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/23/how-abortion-became-an-achilles-heel-for-us-republicans


USA – The Last Decade Was Disastrous For Abortion Rights. Advocates Are Trying To Figure Out What’s Next.

The Last Decade Was Disastrous For Abortion Rights. Advocates Are Trying To Figure Out What’s Next.
This year, the battle over abortion rights reached a fever pitch. That’s what this entire decade was building toward.

Ema O'Connor BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on December 17, 2019

As the decade draws to a close, the national right to abortion is in the most vulnerable place it’s been in decades.

Since 2010, hundreds of laws restricting abortion access have been enacted all over the country, making the procedure less attainable and forcing abortion clinics to close. The US has gone from having around 1,720 facilities that perform abortions in 2011 to 1,587 in 2017 (the last year reproductive rights group Guttmacher Institute surveyed). As of this year, there are six states with only one abortion clinic left. Twenty-five abortion bans were signed into law in 2019 alone, leading to nationwide protests. Though all, so far, have been blocked by the courts, a major fight over abortion rights at the Supreme Court is yet to come.

Continued: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoconnor/abortion-rights-decade-bans-trump-kavanaugh-planned


Democratic White House candidates face grilling on abortion

Democratic White House candidates face grilling on abortion

AFP•June 22, 2019

Columbia (United States) (AFP) - Democrats running for US president in next year's election sat down with voters on Saturday to outline their stance on abortion, a long-simmering issue newly inflamed by attempts to curtail it nationwide.

With abortion now among the most-discussed topics in the presidential race, the candidates aimed to impress an audience cheering "Who decides? We decide!" at the conference put on by family planning organization Planned Parenthood.

Continued; https://news.yahoo.com/democratic-white-house-candidates-face-grilling-abortion-020817131.html


As Passions Flare in Abortion Debate, Many Americans Say ‘It’s Complicated’

As Passions Flare in Abortion Debate, Many Americans Say ‘It’s Complicated’
“It has become so loud, going both ways. And the divide is only getting bigger,” said Jeannie Wallace French, a Democrat who opposes abortion.

By Jeremy W. Peters
June 15, 2019

PITTSBURGH — Abortion is an issue that Lynndora Smith-Holmes goes back and forth on. “Six of one, half dozen of the other,” she said the other day as she finished her lunch break. “Does it go back to people having abortions in back alleys? Haven’t we overcome that?” she asked, questioning the restrictive laws passed recently in states like Alabama and Kentucky.

At the same time, Ms. Smith-Holmes, who works for a day care center in the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh and votes Democratic, said there should be limits. And she is not comfortable with the idea of taxpayer money going to fund abortions — a position that has become almost impossible to hold in the Democratic presidential primary. “Who’s paying for these?” she wondered.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/us/politics/abortion-debate-pennsylvania.html