“Run for the polls”. Less than four months before the critical midterm legislative election, Joe Biden’s Democratic Party hopes the battle against abortion dividing America will bring the political change the president so desperately needs.
On the one hand, Republicans are celebrating the big moment of almost 50 years of activism against the historic 1973 resolution that guaranteed federal protection of the right to abortion, on the grounds that the decision was then made incorrectly.
Now vigilant about the elimination of half a century of reproductive rights protections, Democrats fear that Republicans will regain control of Congress and try to go further with the addition of a federal ban that threatens legal access across the country.
In the face of November’s election clash, President Biden said on Friday that “voters need to be listened to” and, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, revealed his perception of what was at stake for these elections. “Individual liberties will be at the ballot box,” he predicted.
In the US, midterm elections, which renewed all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, have traditionally been non-pro-government and aroused little enthusiasm among voters.
Still, “abortion is one of the rare topics that probably gets attention in favor of Democrats,” says Shana Gadarian, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, “because it’s an issue on which a lot of people have a solid opinion.”
“The public is generally in favor of abortion rights, including Republicans,” she warned.
A CBS News/YouGov poll released Friday shortly after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion showed that 50% of Democrats thought they were more likely to vote after the court order.
Are other reproductive rights at stake?
Considering the statistics, Democratic candidates across the country decided to focus their campaigns on the issue, hoping to turn voters’ anger into votes.
“The attacks won’t end there,” warned North Carolina Senate candidate Cheri Beasley.
“Access to birth control pills, IVF, IUDs (intrauterine devices) is also under threat,” he warned, before urging voters to run to the polls in November.
“What’s at stake couldn’t be more important, send me to Washington to uphold Democratic values,” said Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who will run for Senate in November against a famous surgeon backed by Donald Trump over the weekend.
Local elections will also be held on November 8, and nearly 30 states will elect their governors, an important position because it gives the right to veto laws passed by local councils.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is running for reelection in Michigan, has pledged to fight to protect women’s right to abortion.
Whitmer appealed to the courts to avoid enforcement of a 1931 law outlawing voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Gerard Filitti, an adviser to the New York-based group Lawfare Project, believes Democrats can reposition themselves in the midterm elections and focus the dispute on the battle for fundamental rights rather than the cost of living.
“Civil rights concerns can take precedence over economic concerns, and Republicans are no longer sure of a clear path to victory,” he said.
‘We are burning the USA’
In the Republican section, where the end of the right to abortion is widely praised, politicians are trying to ensure that the Supreme Court’s decision does not turn into a poisonous apple that drives moderate voters away from the ballot box.
Political consultant and researcher Carly Cooperman predicts that “Republicans will do everything they can to undo the debate over inflation, the economy, and gas prices” — issues that have been debated for months under the Joe Biden administration.
In Nevada, where the right to abortion is widely protected, Republican candidate Adam Laxalt warned that the court’s decision “should not deter voters from watching exorbitant prices, escalating crime or the (immigration) crisis on our border.”
Prominent conservatives such as Republican Lindsey Graham quickly put the security crisis at the center of the debate, denouncing the pro-choice protesters as “anarchists” who wanted to “set the United States on fire.” Cases of violence and vandalism remained isolated and confined, as dozens of arrests were announced over the weekend, with protests across the country.
source: Noticias
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