No, Don’t Stop Talking About Abortion
In a recent op-ed, Senator Bernie Sanders offered a rebuke of the current Democratic midterm strategy, writing, “while the abortion issue must remain on the front burner, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow Republican lies and distortions to go unanswered.”
Although Democrats saw improvements in the polls following the Dobbs decision, soaring inflation and rising gas prices have given Republicans a leg up. Recent polling found that the economy and inflation are the top two issues on American voters’ minds. And now, only 4% of voters view abortion as the “key” issue for the midterms.
These polls have made political strategists worry that Democratic campaigns oversaturated with abortion messaging could backfire. Since economic issues are the priority for Americans, focusing on abortion could make voters feel like Democrats don’t care about what’s most important to them. And, whether it’s deserved or not, Democratic control of the White House and Congress means they are stuck on the defensive.
There’s no question that Americans are reminded daily at the gas pump, grocery store, and while watching TV of rising costs, crime, and issues at the border. While we agree that abortion is important, strategists say that talking about it does nothing to respond to Republican attacks about the problems at the forefront.
But it’s not that simple. These midterms are not merely a zero-sum game between inflation and abortion messaging. Instead, to push abortion aside in favor of economic concerns means failing to connect the two issues and failing to rouse community organizers that will mobilize the voters Democrats need to win key races.
It’s well known that women outperform men when turning out for elections. Black women are an especially important force, as solidly Democratic voters who turn out and mobilize their family and friends to vote at rates higher than any other demographic.
Stacey Abrams has championed the strategy of turning passive likely-Democratic citizens, especially in marginalized communities, into active political participants. Although some look to Stacey Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial defeat as evidence that this strategy does not work, she lost that race by 1.4 points against the person who oversaw the election and made concerning comments over efforts to disenfranchise voters. We cannot sweep this strategy under the rug over one election, especially after Georgia went blue for Biden, Ossoff, and Warnock in 2020.
While there’s no question that it was not just Black voters who helped Biden win Georgia, they are necessary for Democratic success. Black women — and the voters they mobilize — may not be a perfect weapon, but without them, Democrats are bound to lose.
And we should start by listening to them.
Black women know that while abortion bans will negatively impact people across America, they will disproportionately affect Black people. Following Roe, Black women experienced a 28–40% decline in maternal mortality. And there was a 2–3 times larger reduction in the birth rate for Black women compared to white women.
Across America, legalizing abortion resulted in increased labor force participation, decreased child poverty, and increased earnings for women since they could delay parenthood. Men involved in a pregnancy whose partners had an abortion were four times more likely to go to college than those whose partners were forced to give birth.
After Dobbs, pro-life Black women understood abortion bans to be more than a moral issue. The 2.5 million member, solidly pro-life African Methodist Episcopal Church issued a statement, writing, “we who have been founded and nurtured at the bosom of Social Justice cannot drop the ball in the fight for Reproductive Justice. Whether you agree or not, this fight demands our attention.”
Black women know that abortion care is not a blunt instrument. It’s a fight about our bodily freedoms as much as our financial ones. It’s a fight about children growing up in homes capable of supporting them. It’s a fight about not moving our economy backward when 41% of mothers are their families’ breadwinners.
To talk about abortion is to talk about a more prosperous America. And it is a powerful tool to mobilize the voters’ Democrats need to push them into victory.
It’s political malpractice to do anything else.
