The Democratic Party’s most politically active women want abortion to be the top issue in the presidential race and don’t trust former President Donald Trump’s pledge to oppose a national abortion ban.
They helped keep abortion rights front and center during the Democratic National Convention.
Kate Cox, a delegate from Texas, described abortion as pro-family when she led her state in the roll call vote celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination for president.
“I love being a mom. I have two beautiful children and my children and I have always wanted a third. But when I got pregnant, doctors told us our baby would never survive, and if I didn’t get an abortion, it would put a future pregnancy at risk. But Trump didn’t care, and because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home,” she said.
“There is nothing pro-family about abortion bans. There is nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die. Today, because I found a way to access abortion care, I am pregnant again,” Ms. Cox said, to cheers. “And my baby is due in January, just in time to see Kamala Harris sworn in as president of the United States.”
Mr. Trump has said he doesn’t support a national abortion ban, pulling the Republican Party away from its longtime pro-life stance. Though he often boasts about being responsible for the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade national abortion rights, he now advocates for abortion laws to be left to the states.
His running mate J.D. Vance said that Mr. Trump, if elected president, would veto a national abortion ban if Congress sent him such a bill.
“Donald Trump’s view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don’t want to have a nonstop federal conflict over this issue,” the Ohio senator said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I mean, if you’re not supporting it as the president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it.”
Mr. Trump’s pivot on abortion has outraged the GOP’s pro-life wing.
At the convention in Chicago, however, Democratic women were not swayed by Mr. Trump’s words. They told The Washington Times that he flip-flops too much to be trustworthy.
“Trump has a record of flip-flopping on various different issues, depending on what his voter base says is important, and so for the delegates and the Democratic Party to continue to say that we are going to rally behind women and say that we are making sure that women have those freedoms to be able to make their own choices, is really important,” said Cathi Frederiksen, a 53-year-old Georgia delegate.
Florida delegate Kyandra Darling said she thinks the Republican Party switched its messaging on abortion because they know an anti-abortion stance is unpopular and they are nervous about losing the November election.
“Right now they’re in panic mode, and they’re doing whatever they can, saying whatever they can in order to try to keep support,” said Ms. Darling, 31.
“But Trump, we know, has already shown us exactly who he is. We know that we cannot trust his word. We know that often the story changes, right, with whatever’s popular in the moment,” she said. “So I think we need to be smart. Pay attention to what he’s already done, what he’s already shown us, and I wouldn’t put too much weight behind any changes that he’s said because if he’s changed it before he could change it again.”
New York delegate Chelsea Connor said abortion rights is an issue that “matters more than anything else on the ballot.”
“It’s a right that was taken away from us,” said Ms. Connor, 35. “And there are little girls in other countries that have greater rights than American women right now, and that’s something that we’ve never had to say before.”
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, more than 20 states have either fully banned abortions or put restrictions on access to it. Women have had to travel across state lines to get abortions.
“These are real people’s stories that happen every single day, and it doesn’t matter what party you’re a part of — you need health care,” Ms. Connor said. “This is a health care issue. It’s not an abortion rights issue.”
A recent Economist/YouGov poll of registered voters found that abortion ranked fifth at 7% as the “most important issue,” behind inflation/prices (24%), jobs/economy (13%), immigration (12%) and health care (10%).
Still, abortion is expected to be a factor on Election Day.
Democrats have succeeded in getting pro-abortion referendums on the ballot in 10 states, which are expected to drive Democratic-leaning voters in those states to the polls.
They are working to do the same in other states.
In Florida, where a new law banned abortion after six weeks of gestation, voters will decide whether to guarantee abortion access until the fetus is viable, usually after about 23 weeks or six months.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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