Remember the summer of 2022. The Supreme Court swept aside the historic precedent Roe VS Wade which guaranteed American women the right to abortion throughout the country, creating a global shock wave. Since then, abortion rights defenders have been breathing a little easier. This Tuesday, Ohio voters approved the inclusion of abortion protection in the constitution of this conservative state.
Since the Supreme Court’s about-face, this is the sixth victory in six referendums for pro-abortionists. How can we explain that the subject is so politicized when, in view of the latest elections, the right to abortion seems to be accepted by American society? Response elements with Théo Laubrycolumnist of American political life for the media Slate.
Beyond the conservative and democratic camps, is a consensus emerging not to touch the principle of the right to abortion at the local level?
A defeat at the federal level, but successes at the local level. After Kansas in August, another state in the American Midwest said yes to the right to abortion. Pro-abortionists in favor of yes to the constitutional amendment on this right won in Ohio, a conservative state. All this, after a failed attempt by the anti-abortion camp in August to complicate the organization of referendums.
This string of local successes is setting a trend. “The Supreme Court’s decision was a shock, which means that today a new mobilization is underway to defend these rights,” analyzes our specialist. According to a poll by the Gallup Institute relayed by The cross61% of Americans view the Supreme Court’s decision as a “bad thing.”
“Regardless of the political side, the majority of Americans consider that reducing the right to abortion to a bare minimum is a mistake,” continues our expert. The Supreme Court’s decision was unpopular even among a moderate conservative electorate. The differences do not lie in the principle, but in the terms of the exercise of this right (number of weeks, etc.). »
How can we explain that pro-abortionists win in conservative states?
After the Supreme Court’s decision, Ohio law suddenly became tougher. The state had adopted a law banning the majority of abortions, even in cases of rape or incest, as long as a fetal heartbeat could be detected, i.e. at the start of the pregnancy, around six weeks. So, as reported The Guardian, a ten-year-old girl was forced to travel to Indiana from Ohio in order to have an abortion. Today, this legislation is on hold due to a legal battle, and abortion is legal up to the 22nd week of pregnancy.
Despite this context, the pro-abortion camp managed to assert itself in a state led by a Republican governor. Thanks to the mobilization of a “more politicized” electorate than during general elections. “There is a double phenomenon: the electorate is more mobilized, made up of CSP+, young people, people with higher education… And a less significant mobilization of anti-abortionists, who have already obtained a national victory. »
Did the American right make a strategic mistake in making abortion a hobby horse?
“In Ohio, this extreme and dangerous (anti-abortion) agenda is out of step with the vast majority of Americans.” On, (ex-Twitter), Joe Biden did not fail to welcome the result of the referendum in Ohio. One year before the presidential election, the Democrat allowed himself to draw national conclusions from a local election, affirming that “democracy won and the Trumpists lost”.
On this social issue, the current trend proves him right, but the analysis becomes smoother when looking at temporality, according to our specialist. “We often hear that the Conservatives shot themselves in the foot with this question. But, even if they lose referendums and intermediate elections, the victory of anti-abortionists in the Supreme Court remains symbolic, after half a century of battle.
For Democrats, it remains to continue to mobilize on this issue in the long term, “in particular to re-elect a Democratic president and secure a position as a judge on the Supreme Court”.