In this op-ed, Phoebe Gates looks at what the recent elections mean for the future of reproductive freedom.
Since the 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade, states across the U.S. have passed extreme laws banning abortion. As a result, many more places have become abortion deserts, places where women must travel 100 or more miles to access care. As we lost our reproductive freedom, organizers and advocates mobilized to fight back – and in elections since, reproductive rights have continuously won on the ballot. This trend continued in the most recent elections: Ohioans voted to protect reproductive rights in their state constitution, Virginians denied Republicans control of the state legislature after they embraced a 15-week abortion ban, and Kentuckians rejected anti-abortion candidate Daniel Cameron in favor of Gov. Andy Beshear.
These wins — during an off-year election cycle, no less — are significant. Significant because of their real-world impact on women and families, and significant in what they prove about young people: you can’t fool us when it comes to our freedom.
Abortion was the top issue influencing young people’s vote in the 2022 midterms, according to data analysis by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), and exit polls from Ohio show that 77% of voters under 30 supported the state’s ballot measure on abortion rights. Recent polling conducted by Change Research found that 60% of young women said they are or would be more motivated to move to another state now that or if theirs passed an abortion ban. Abortion isn’t just a single issue for Gen Z – it’s the issue.
The recent wins didn’t happen in a vacuum. They happened as extreme politicians tried to deceptively reframe their positions on abortion and confuse voters with intentionally misleading ballot language. They failed, and with what CIRCLE estimates to be about 8 million young people aging into the 2024 electorate, we have the chance to ensure they fail again and cement our reproductive freedom.
At the heart of these wins are 25 million women who live in places where abortion is banned or tightly restricted and face unimaginable challenges to receive the healthcare they deserve. These state abortion bans haven’t stopped abortions — they’ve forced women and girls to travel further and risk legal consequences and health complications to receive lifesaving reproductive care. The states they travel to have become havens with busy clinics — in Illinois alone, the number of abortions has jumped 69% since 2020.
Abortion bans are deeply unpopular – a Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) poll conducted by Change Research found that 73% of respondents said bans had gone too far and that politicians should stop interfering with decisions about reproductive care. But since the fall of Roe, Republicans haven’t budged. They’ve continued to push for a federal abortion ban.
This 2023 election cycle, Republicans disguised their radical views with misleading language, employing words like “commonsense limitations,” and “reasonable compromise” for what they actually wanted: an abortion ban. But what they don’t seem to understand is that they can’t fool young people on this issue. We know that anything short of the right to decide what happens to our bodies, families, and futures is an assault on our freedoms. That’s why young people turned to activism and mobilized for change. They knocked on doors, connected with voters, and turned out to vote.
This election cycle was a resounding victory for reproductive freedom, but to ensure effective and sustained change we must keep up the momentum. Abortion ban efforts are likely to ramp up – just as they did after voters spoke in 2022. If we want to see lasting action and regain our fundamental rights, we have to keep our eye on this issue every single time it’s on the ballot and fight like hell to get it – whether it’s a state Supreme Court race, state legislature race, or an amendment to our state constitution. And with 41 million members of Gen Z eligible to vote in 2024, young people must be the formidable force that moves the needle on this issue for years to come.
For us, reproductive freedom isn’t just about abortion, it’s the profound impact it has on every single aspect of our lives. It’s about the contraceptives and healthcare that must be available so women have control over their careers, lives, and futures. It’s a fundamental pursuit of justice. Not participating in 2024 is a vote for young people to have fewer rights than our parents. A vote with consequences that will reverberate for generations.
