The Quickie: Abortion Keeps Winning Winning Winning
For Immediate Release: Nov. 8, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Yes, voters still care about abortion, Ohio says yes to Issue 1, Virginia says no to a Youngkin ban, Pennsylvanians place their trust in McCaffery, and Kentucky re-elects Beshear.
THE ONE WHERE THEY FOUND OUT, AGAIN
WHY YES, VOTERS DO STILL CARE ABOUT ABORTION: We’re not going to say we told you so, but we did. Voters showed up for abortion access this election, proving AGAIN that it’s a winning issue. Who knew that people cared so much about protecting their freedom to make decisions about their own bodies? Oh, that’s right. We did.
Reproductive freedom notched major wins in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia as voters chose champions for abortion access. Voters rejected candidates who support abortion bans and jurists who wouldn’t commit to blocking them. And in Ohio, voters affirmed a constitutional right to abortion and reproductive health care, without interference.
OHIO SAYS YES TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: In a resounding victory for reproductive freedom, Ohio voters approved Issue 1 to amend their constitution and ensure abortion access for generations to come. 57% of voters said YES to reproductive freedom — proving once again that abortion is a winning issue for people across the political spectrum.
“The future is bright, and tonight we can celebrate this win for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights,” Lauren Blauvelt, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio executive director and co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights (OURR), told a packed room of volunteers and supporters in Columbus. “Today, Ohioans made it clear abortion is a winning issue.”
“For the second time this year, Ohioans understood the stakes and made their choice clear,” said Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Alexis McGill Johnson. “This election, Ohioans chose hope. They chose a future for Ohio where people have control of their own bodies and lives, without government interference. And they did so even in the face of state officials — from the Governor’s office down — spouting lies, purging the voter rolls, and meddling in the fairness of this election. This win is the result of more than a year of extraordinarily hard work to reach Ohio voters across all ages, backgrounds, and political ideologies, to protect reproductive freedom and ensure that every person’s vote was counted.”
Throughout the campaign, OURR supporters knocked over one million doors, made thousands of phone calls, and helped their fellow Ohioans understand why this vote was so important. The result: Ohio became the seventh state in a row where voters decided to protect abortion access.
VIRGINIA SAYS SORRY GLENN — YOUR ABORTION BAN IS DEAD: Well well well, if it isn’t the consequences of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s own actions. Virginia Democrats held the state Senate and flipped the House of Delegates, throwing cold water on Youngkin’s desire for a “compromise” 15-week abortion ban (which is still a ban). “Voters weren’t fooled,” said Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “They showed up.”
Pundits and politicians alike are calling the result a humiliation for Youngkin, whose agenda mirrors that recommended by SBA List and other national anti-abortion groups. Fox News even said it was “an epic failure.” This one time, we agree with them!
Voters know: it’s common sense to protect abortion access in Virginia. The state is the last in the South without a devastating abortion ban, making it a critical access point.
ABORTION DOMINATES PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT RACE: Pennsylvania elected Daniel McCaffery to its Supreme Court yesterday in a race dominated from start to finish by abortion. His opponent, Carolyn Carluccio, complained to a reporter that it “played way too much of a role” in the election. But abortion was the issue for Pennsylvania voters. Planned Parenthood Votes and its partners made sure that it remained at the front of Pennsylvanians’ minds throughout the election.
“In this election, voters saw through Carolyn Carluccio and her lies,” said Signe Espinoza, executive director, Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. “Instead of someone who refused to answer questions about her abortion stance, they chose a Supreme Court justice they could trust. Pennsylvanians have a champion in Daniel McCaffery. He will rule fairly on critical issues, like reproductive rights, that come before the court, and work to protect every Pennsylvanian’s equality, dignity, and freedom.
With the stakes for abortion access higher than ever, Planned Parenthood Votes (PPV) ran a seven-figure campaign — its largest-ever investment in a judicial race and its first-ever investment in such a race in Pennsylvania. Planned Parenthood Votes campaign director Breana Ross told the Pennsylvania Capitol-Star that the organization sees voter education as part of its long-term strategy for a fairer judiciary. “We want to make sure we have justices that will protect abortion,” she said. “And this is really a decades-long fight.”
KENTUCKY PICKS ABORTION RIGHTS FOR TWO YEARS RUNNING, RE-ELECTS GOV. ANDY BESHEAR: A year after rejecting an amendment that would eliminate any state constitutional right to abortion, Kentucky voters ONCE AGAIN picked abortion rights — this time by re-electing Gov. Andy Beshear. He defeated anti-abortion clown Daniel Cameron, who as Kentucky Attorney General has defended the state’s abortion bans and worked to undermine Kentuckians’ fundamental rights.
“Abortion played a key role in Andy Beshear’s victory tonight," Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, told NBC News.“You cannot underestimate the power of abortion access and how it impacts the daily lives of people across the country.”
Gov. Beshear and his campaign centered real Kentuckians in their campaign to demonstrate the effect of the state’s abortion ban. On Tuesday, Gov. Beshear thanked Hadley Duvall, a young survivor of sexual abuse whose advertisement calling out Daniel Cameron marked a campaign turning point. “Because of her courage, this commonwealth is going to be a better place and people are going to reach out for the help they need,” Gov. Beshear said.
Our final message in today’s Quickie: Abortion is a winning issue. Stop playing with people’s rights.