Democrats try to refocus on abortion

by Joseph Choi and Nathaniel Weixel - 07/11/24 6:40 PM ET

Health Care

The Big Story

Democrats try to keep focus on abortion

Democrats in both chambers are trying to keep abortion at the forefront of voters’ minds amid mounting concerns about President Biden’s ability to run for reelection and calls for him to step aside.

In the Senate, all the Democratic women and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a staff report Thursday detailing the cascading effects of abortion bans across all states, even those where the procedure is still legal.

The report was based off interviews with more than 80 health care providers and advocates. The findings matched other studies by abortion rights research groups, including the Guttmacher Institute and the #WeCount project by the Society for Family Planning.

More women need to travel farther for abortions and are sometimes being airlifted out of state in medical emergencies. OB-GYNs and other health care providers are fleeing abortion ban states and wait times in protected states are becoming longer.

The report was released on the heels of a Wednesday vote to support codifying the protections of Roe v. Wade into law, which Republicans blocked. With similar votes last month on contraception and in vitro fertilization, they are trying to put Republicans in a bind between the wishes of their conservative base and much of the U.S.

In the House, Democrats on the Oversight Committee called for an investigation into federal funding for crisis pregnancy centers, anti-abortion nonprofits designed to convince people not to terminate pregnancies.

The centers have been allowed to receive federal funding since 1996, though Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said there has been limited oversight and transparency into how that money is allocated and used.

Democrats are also continuing to blast efforts by Republicans to limit abortion access in the fiscal year 2025 HHS spending bill. The bill that passed the Appropriations Committee on Wednesday would slash funding from Title X family planning grants amid a host of other provisions.

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