Dear John,
“You will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will no longer be in danger. ... You will be protected, and I will be your protector. … You will no longer be thinking about abortion.”
What is he talking about!?
Former president Trump’s remarks in Pennsylvania on Monday represented a new addition to his usual talking points—perhaps indicating that he’s taken notice of the sizable (and growing) gender gap ahead of November’s elections. A new Harvard Youth Poll released this week shows that young women in particular overwhelmingly support Harris over Trump—women under 30 support the Vice President by a 3:1 margin. Polls conducted for Ms. magazine and our publisher the Feminist Majority Foundation have found abortion to consistently be a top priority for voters in the lead-up to this fall’s election—particularly when it comes to young women voters.
So why is it that pundit after pundit has argued that the economy will be the dominant issue this election? In doing so, they are ignoring the fact that abortion is an economic issue for women and their families. How many times do we have to remind them about the impact of having a child on parents’ earning abilities, and the economic harm to women who do not have paid pregnancy/family or medical leave? Not to mention the cost of raising a child—which can go well over a quarter of a million dollars, between food, medical expenses, clothing, and education.
As philosopher Susan Bordo pointed out in a recent newsletter, the construction of polls means that they don’t just relay data—they influence how we think about the issues at hand. Polls that position “the economy” and “abortion” as parallel issues not only disregard abortion as an economic issue, but pit the umbrella issue of “economy,” which actually encompasses a broad range of issues, against “abortion,” which is framed as a “single issue” problem—thus inherently framing “the economy” as the more important issue.
And, all philosophizing aside, pundits who buy into the importance of the economy over abortion are forgetting the important role abortion and reproductive healthcare played in the election outcomes of 2022 and 2023. Abortion wins elections—this has been shown time and time again. Kamala Harris has certainly noticed—just this week, she announced that if elected, she would support eliminating the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights. When will the pundits pick up on it, too?
And in the Senate this week, Republicans blocked a resolution expressing that medical patients have “the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.” As Sen. Patty Murray, who introduced the resolution, said, “Republicans sometimes talk about protecting the life of the mother, but frankly they have yet to lift a finger to ensure doctors can always do that."
Finally, today marks 24 years since the FDA first approved the abortion medication Mifepristone, a drug that is used in over half of all abortions performed in the U.S. today. As Republican attacks on abortion medication and birth control continue to amp up, I’d encourage you to check out some of our reporting on the issue included below. In the face of the misinformation that comes with these attacks, it’s more important than ever that Ms. readers know the facts.
Onward,
