Abortion rights advocates were stunned by President Joe Biden’s vague and at times incoherent messaging on abortion rights during Thursday night’s debate, and were particularly stunned when he failed to condemn former President Donald Trump’s false assertion that Democrats are in favor of killing babies.
“This has been a huge failure,” said Warren Hahn, president of an abortion clinic in Boulder, Colorado. “It’s going to be hard to recover from.”
The debate was meant to be a meeting point for abortion rights advocates, as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Trump boasted about appointing three anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court during his term from 2017 to 2021, which would overturn the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022, leaving states to decide at what stage women can terminate their pregnancies.
But Biden barely challenged his opponent on the issue during their showdown on Thursday. He called the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a “horrible thing” but then changed the subject to the murder of a nursing student on the campus of the University of Georgia earlier this year, a case that had nothing to do with abortion.
Julie Burkhart, co-owner of the Hope Clinic, an abortion provider in Granite City, Illinois, said Biden’s weak stance on the issue has caused “disheartenment, alarm and concern” among her colleagues. She said she worries that Trump’s reelection could lead to a nationwide ban on abortion.
“I believe this presidential election is the most important election I’ll ever witness in my lifetime,” Burkhart said.
Abortion opponents say the same thing: They hope that a Trump presidency will lead to “reasonable steps” to ensure “tax money is not being used for abortion,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.
These polarized opinions come as the country continues to grapple with the issue of abortion care. Last week marked the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe. According to a recent survey, Survey from KFFOne in 10 women say abortion rights is the most important issue that will determine their vote, according to a survey by a medical research and policy group.
“Abortion rights advocates need to make sure the public understands what’s at stake for women’s health care and women’s rights,” Hahn said. “This is a desperate situation.”
Abortion rights advocates say they are sticking to their message ahead of the election. They are trying to distract voters from Biden’s poor performance by focusing on the overall goals of his administration and the decision on who should control the influential medical institution.
“What direction will the leaders of these agencies take? Are they going to defend attacks on abortion access or are they going to promulgate rules that make it more difficult, if not impossible, for people to get care?” said Michelle Velazquez, chief strategy officer for Planned Parenthood Federation of Wisconsin.
“The presidency does not belong to just one person,” Velásquez said.
Leila Abol-Fazli, national abortion strategy director for the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, said the group will continue to brief people on the impact of ongoing decisions, such as the Supreme Court’s avoidance of a ruling on whether Idaho’s abortion ban conflicts with a federal law that sets standards for emergency room patients, including women with life-threatening pregnancies.
“What I struggle with is explaining to people what these temporary concepts and laws actually mean on a day-to-day basis,” Abol-Fazli says. “Pregnancy-related care is under attack on all sides, and people need to be aware of that.”
Outside of the presidential election, four states – Colorado, Florida, Maryland and South Dakota – have amendments on the November ballot aimed at protecting abortion rights.
“We’re all holding our breath until November,” said Candace Dye, owner of A Woman’s World Medical Center, an abortion clinic in Fort Pierce, Fla. “We’re hoping and praying that this amendment passes.”
