‘Crisis Moment:’ Democrats Panicking as Conservatives Revolt Against Abortion Ballot Measures

Abortion supporters have won in the seven states where abortion has been on the ballot since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, but a conservative revolt appears to be gaining momentum in at least two states that are considering abortion measures this fall.In New York, Democrats are “increasingly anxious” that a conservative campaign against an abortion ballot initiative will harm swing seat candidates and even thwart the party’s goal to win the House, Politico is reporting. In Florida, President Trump took a stricter stance on an abortion measure after previously angering a key bloc of supporters when he declined to take a stance on it. There are 11 abortion-related state ballot measures that are certified for November’s election — in Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska (which has two competing initiatives), New York, Nevada, and South Dakota, Ballotpedia’s tracker indicates — “the most on record for a single year.” Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leaving abortion to the states, abortion proponents have seen victories in all seven states where the issue has been put on the ballot. It’s made the issue a critical one to Democrats who are frequently campaigning and advertising on the issue — Planned Parenthood even offered free abortions and vasectomies outside of the Democratic National Convention last month. In New York — where abortion is legal through the 24th week of pregnancy, and after 24 weeks if the “fetus is not viable” or if a woman’s life or physical or mental health is at risk — a measure known as Proposition 1 seeks to go further. Also called the “Equal Rights Amendment,” the measure would enshrine in the New York Bill of Rights that people can’t be discriminated against because of their “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”Opponents of the abortion amendment have seized on the “gender identity” part of the amendment, rather than the abortion aspect, during rallies and news conferences, Politico notes, and Republican politicians have been warning that it will lead to biological males playing in female sports.The coordinated conservative campaign against the amendment comes as Democrats are refusing to spend on countermeasures and are “bickering” about spending, the outlet adds. Democratic strategists say that Democrats’ refusal to boost the amendment could be detrimental to the party and its winning streak on state abortion measures. “This should have happened already,” a Democratic consultant in New York, Teresa Gonzalez, said of needing a well-funded counter-campaign. “This is a call to action; we need to sound the alarm. It’s a crisis moment.”In Florida, where abortions are currently legal for the first six weeks of pregnancy, the “Right to Abortion Initiative” aims to enshrine access to abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” While the University of North Florida’s polling of likely Florida voters in July indicates that 69 percent of respondents say they support the abortion amendment, recent backlash from conservatives and the anti-abortion movement has been ramping up. President Trump — who in an NBC News interview last week declined to take a stance on the ballot measure and even expressed criticism of Florida’s current six-week ban as too strict — quickly took a harder stance on abortion after facing widespread conservative backlash. “My phone is blowing up with @SFLAction volunteers who no longer will door knock for President Trump if this is not corrected,” the president of Students for Life, Kristan Hawkins, wrote on X. “With polls neck and neck, this is the last thing we need right now to defeat Kamala’s pro-abortion extremism.”“If Donald Trump loses in November, it will be his improvisational approach to abortion that alienated the pro-life community that costs him victory,” a radio host, Erick Erickson, observed.Only a day after declining to take a stance, Trump called Democrats “too radical” on abortion and said he would vote against Florida’s ballot measure — though he said the state’s current six-week ban doesn’t give women enough time. Meanwhile, Vice President Harris’ campaign on Tuesday began its 50-stop bus trip to promote abortion on Tuesday, choosing Palm Beach — home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago — to kick off its “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” tour.

‘Crisis Moment:’ Democrats Panicking as Conservatives Revolt Against Abortion Ballot Measures

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