Women are saving democracy via abortion rights battles
14th August 2023 · 0 Comments
It’s never a good idea to underestimate the power of the fairer sex. Battles for abortion rights over the past three years indicate women voters’ ability to secure not only abortion rights but also individual rights, civil rights, and democratic rule.
Last week, Ohio joined ruby red slipper Kansas – which defeated the first anti-abortion referendum in the U.S. in August 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade – Kentucky, Vermont, California, Maine, Montana and Michigan in codifying abortion rights in its state constitution.
In defeating Issue I, which would have mandated a supermajority of voters – 60 percent versus. a simple 51 percent majority – to change the constitution, Ohio voters delivered a “gut punch” to GOP supermajority extremists in Ohio’s gerrymandered state legislature.
The Ohio GOP’s concerted campaign to keep voters from codifying abortion rights in an upcoming November election failed miserably. Republicans’ usual sneak attack strategy of putting life-altering issues on ballots during off-election periods – like this August election – didn’t work. In the past, when Republicans put measures on ballots outside of a significant election, low turnout is expected. Not this time, though.
Over three million voters, or 40 percent of Ohio’s electorate, turned up for the special election. Sixty-three percent said “no,” while 37 percent voted “yes.” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, expressed pride in Ohio voters who believe in one person, one vote, and majority rule.
Kentucky’s abortion rights bill that passed last week resulted in a narrow victory, but abortion rights advocates won, nonetheless. Fifty-one percent of voters said no to an abortion ban, while 49 percent said
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman said many folks didn’t want the “supermajority” measure to pass. Huffman blamed outsiders for funding the campaign against Issue 1 but said nothing about billionaire Richard Uline plying anti-abortion groups with $4 million to encourage voters to vote “Yes.”
President Joe Biden lauded the Ohio voting coalition, including the Ohio League of Women Voters and the AFL-CIO, for saying “No” to Ohio’s GOP supermajority in the state legislature. “Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and democracy won,” Biden said.
The League of Women voters led the campaign against Issue 1. A spokesperson said the victory resulted from a neighbor-to-neighbor campaign, text messages, emails and phone calls that drove voters to the polls. Indeed, the turnout for the Ohio referendum was higher than during the state’s May primary election.
When it comes to a woman’s right to choose and male legislators making laws that take away that right, the GOP doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning that battle.
The abortion rights victory in numerous states will shape voter turnout in the 2024 election and may ultimately save Democracy. In fact, the organizing strategies that propelled the pro-abortion wins can serve as a blueprint for preserving rights and Democracy.
Indeed, some Republican women and men opposed stripping away a woman’s right to choose. South Carolina State Senator Sandy Senn (R) articulated the abortion battle from a woman colleague’s perspective when she addressed the Senate recently concerning that state’s abortion ban.
“The abortion issue is about control. In the Senate, the males have control. We did not ask for nor want your protection. There’s not a single thing we can do when women like me are insulted except make sure you get an earful.”
Nonetheless, the odds are that women are poised to save our constitutional rights, democratic freedoms, and fair and free elections.
Polls indicate that GOP men are getting and will continue to get an earful regarding a woman’s right to choose. A CBS News/YouGov Poll showed the abortion issue has motivated more Democrats to vote in 2024 than Republicans, 47 percent to 28 percent, respectively. The same poll shows 57.6 percent of voters supported abortion protections, with a minority of voters, 32.4 percent, opposed.
Unfortunately, Louisiana’s abortion ban remains in effect with some exceptions. Abortion has been outlawed in Louisiana since June 24, 2022, and a major proponent of the abortion ban, Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, is now running for governor of that red state. Endorsed by Donald Trump, Landry is now the front-runner in the race for the state’s top political position.
However, if demographic minorities form a voting coalition, Landry could be defeated. Otherwise, a trifecta is on the horizon for the sportsman’s paradise. If he wins, Landry and fellow Republicans will be the majority in the governor’s mansion, the Louisiana legislature, and Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
Louisiana’s Republicans cheated their way into a supermajority in the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Indeed, the seven-member Louisiana State Supreme Court comprises six white male Republicans and one Black female Democrat.
Which begs the question, when will we see a ban on gerrymandering? Such a ban would level the political and electoral playing fields. Hope springs eternal on this, and only time will tell. For now, each registered voter who embraces Democracy must flock to the polls during every election and vote for Democracy. To do less is acquiescing to authoritarian rule and a new world order where monolithic dictators rule.
This article originally published in the August 14, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
