Reproductive rights have become a topic of debate for our country’s political landscape. Many Americans believe abortion is a fundamental human right and it should be legal. However, we have crazy trumpets blaring misinformation and disinformation on which a precedent against reproductive rights have been set. In a media briefing closing out Women’s History Month, speakers conglomerate and discuss the impact of abortion rights in the US political landscape. The question being answered: will women’s reproductive rights be the deciding force in the 2024 elections?

In an Ethnic Media Services briefing on March 31, experts discuss how the issue with the reproductive right can shape the 2024 elections.

Speakers

(L-r) Lupe Rodriguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice; Angela Vasquez-Giroux, Vice President of Communications and Research at NARAL Pro-Choice America; Ebony Baylor, Vice President of Government Affairs, In Our Own Voice: Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda; Yvonne Hsu, Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF); Suba Srinivasaraghavan, Virginia field organizer, They See Blue (EMS)
  • Lupe Rodriguez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
  • Angela Vasquez-Giroux, Vice President of Communications and Research at NARAL Pro-Choice America
  • Ebony Baylor, Vice President of Government Affairs, In Our Own Voice: Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
  • Yvonne Hsu, Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)
  • Suba Srinivasaraghavan, Virginia field organizer, They See Blue

In the United States, there is an ongoing debate about whether women should have the right to get an abortion. Many voters believe that women should have the right to make this decision on their own, while some believe that it should be illegal. This debate is important because of the potential impact on the 2024 elections.

Various polls show that a majority of voters support the right to abortion access. If we go back to 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Roe V. Wade was one reason for increased participation and increased support for the Democratic party. According to Suba Srinivasaraghavan, “The Supreme Court’s decision a few months before the 2022 midterm elections was political suicide.” Srinivasaraghavan highlights the increased outreach urging people to vote. Seeing the results of the midterms, Srinivasaraghavan says, “Abortion all of a sudden became front and center for many constituents and candidates alike.”

Building on the increased support for abortion access, Angela Vasquez-Giroux highlights, “Voters across the country and across the political spectrum said ‘Enough is enough.’ And in every state where abortion was on the ballot, voters supported protecting and expanding access.”

Recently, there have been new laws passed in some states that limit access to abortion, and many people are concerned that these laws will spread to other states. Accessibility to abortion is a major issue for many. Lupe Rodriguez notes, “Anti-abortion politicians have been working for decades to make abortion difficult to get, and the continued attacks on abortion access fall hardest on communities of color and people working to make ends meet.”

Democratic and Republican parties have become increasingly polarized on the issue, with Democrats supporting a woman’s right to choose and Republicans pushing for more restrictions on abortion. The issue of abortion has historically been used by both parties to mobilize their bases with different rhetoric.

The difference is that in a democracy, the citizens of the country prevail. A point brought forth by Yvonne Hsu. “Radical judges and politicians are taking away our fundamental rights to make decisions about if, when, and how we have a family, and we’re not going to take that sitting down. We will fight, organize, and build power, and vote until we can make our own decisions again.”

The abortion rights narrative currently playing out is part of an even bigger political narrative. As noted by Ebony Baylor, “Our civil and human rights are being attacked from all sides – lack of access to health care, clean water, child care, social justice, and more…” If we just had to gauge the significance of abortion rights in the upcoming elections, the experts agree with Ebony Baylor that abortion rights will be “a deciding factor.”