Dear John,
This week California launched a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against a chain of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) for falsely advertising an “abortion pill reversal” process. Abortion pill reversal is a scientifically unproven and potentially dangerous technique that anti-abortion CPCs claim can “reverse” a medication abortion that is underway.
“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance—not lies and misinformation,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit. “And let me be clear: The evidence shows that the vast majority of people do not regret their decision to have an abortion—more than 95 percent of patients who undergo an abortion later say they made the right decision.”
As we continue to wait for the Supreme Court to decide whether it will hear the case out of the Fifth Circuit that would prohibit the mailing of abortion pills and the use of telemedicine for abortion, access to abortion pills continues to expand. Abortion pills hit the shelves of 18 brick-and-mortar pharmacies this week, with CVS and Walgreens making plans to follow suit. The FDA in January announced the certification process for brick-and-mortar pharmacies to be able to dispense mifepristone—prompting boycotts from anti-abortion activists, after CVS and Walgreens announced that they would apply.
But the truth is, abortion is incredibly popular among the vast majority of Americans. In fact, abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment—both as separate issues, and even more so when discussed in conjunction with each other—are top voter issues, according to a new Ms. magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation poll by Lake Research Partners. The national survey found that voters remain overwhelmingly supportive of the ERA, and very supportive of abortion rights, with 61 percent of voters supporting abortion rights compared to 34 percent of voters who do not. What’s more, nearly three-quarters of voters support a person’s right to “make their own reproductive decisions, including about abortion, contraception, and continuing a pregnancy.”
Per the poll, “talking about abortion and the ERA together is powerful to mobilize the base of Democrats and Independents”—particularly for younger women, voters who support abortion rights, college-educated women, Latinas and Black voters, and others.
“For voters who support abortion rights, younger women and Democrats, abortion and women’s rights combined are top issues that will determine their vote next year,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners. “Talking about abortion and the ERA together is very powerful. There are a lot of younger women voters … lagging in registration. This is a combination that can get them turned out to vote.”
What’s more, nearly 60 percent of respondents indicated that they consider themself to be a feminist or a strong feminist—with younger women, college-educated women, Democrats and Independent women identifying themselves as feminists in the largest numbers.
As we continue to prepare for next year’s elections, candidates should take note—because voters are watching.
Onward,
