Voters Won’t Be Fooled By Efforts from Anti-Abortion Politicians and Groups to Mislead Them

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, ahead of the first GOP presidential debate, the head of Susan B. Anthony List, a radical anti-abortion group, published an op-ed instructing candidates on the “mistakes they must avoid on abortion if they want to win” — despite the fact that they have been consistently losing. 

Anti-abortion groups and politicians continue to tell on themselves. This isn’t an opinion piece — it’s a pathetic playbook, devoid of reality and science, clearly outlining their strategy. They know full well that the only way to keep in power the people who will continue to do their bidding is through deception, to mislead the public and skirt accountability for their deeply unpopular views on abortion. Voters will not be fooled.

Anti-abortion groups and politicians are woefully out of touch with voters — and they know it. Desperate to scrounge up support and votes to pass a national abortion ban, they have made it their strategy to mislead the public about their real views.

• About 8 in 10 adults say the decision to have an abortion should be left to the woman and her doctor, including 58% of Republicans. This is up 8 points since April 2022 and consistent with polling following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
• By more than a 2-to-1 margin, voters are more inclined to leave abortion care decisions up to patients and their doctors (63%), rather than enact 15-week bans (26%). 

In fact, the more emboldened anti-abortion groups and politicians become to attack our rights, the more motivated voters become to ensure they don’t have the power to do so. Just like the 2022 midterms, abortion will be key to increasing motivation among pro-abortion rights voters in 2024.

• Nearly a third of Americans say the issue of abortion has made them more likely to vote in the 2024 presidential election, especially people under 30, Black Americans, and Democrats.
• More than one in four Americans who are pro-choice say that they would be more motivated to vote to ensure a Republican candidate who supported a nationwide abortion ban would not be elected. 

Despite voters consistently telling them that they support protecting access to abortion, anti-abortion groups and politicians would rather force a public health crisis than own up to the harm they’ve caused with their positions, misleading rhetoric, and policies. 

• People know and understand that the reversal of Roe v. Wade is more than just an attack on a fundamental right, it’s a danger to the health and safety of pregnant people.
• More than half of women think being pregnant in the U.S. today is becoming more dangerous from a health care perspective. This includes a quarter of Republican women.
• Nearly three in four adults say these bans make it more difficult for doctors to safely take care of pregnant people who experience major complications.
• Two-thirds of the public are concerned that bans on abortion may lead to unnecessary health problems, including 7 in 10 independents and nearly half of Republicans.

Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, abortion rights are undefeated at the ballot box. In every single state where abortion was on the ballot, voters chose reproductive freedom. Yet groups like Susan B. Anthony List are attempting to mislead the public, claiming to care about patients’ health and safety while they actively support measures that put essential health care out of reach for millions. They can waffle behind vague answers because they don’t want to confirm what voters already know. Anti-abortion rights politicians have made it clear that if elected, there is no limit to the lengths they will go to take away our rights. 

No matter what kind of tricks they have up their sleeves, support for protecting reproductive freedom remains at an all time high. We will not be fooled — and neither will voters. 

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education