Something Good

This Week in Abortion is a collection of good reads, news, and policy insights.

After last night's election, you are probably exhausted. So am I. But, I’m not inviting you to my pity party. Sorry, that’s a private affair. I’m here to talk about good things and the future. Yes, the positive:

Abortion access had a good night. 

We can get caught up in whether the ballot measures went far enough. But, the bottom line is that voters - red and blue - turned out for reproductive freedom in Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Nevada despite Trump's strong performance. (Florida too, even if the measure failed to hit 60%) In Missouri, at least 343,000 more people voted for abortion access than voted for Harris.

I’ve said it before - The only path to access is through the Republican party. This election didn’t just drive that home, it showed that path is possible. 

Republicans won because they managed to separate themselves from the reality of abortion bans. If they are smart they will take that as a lesson not to mess around with the status quo, even if they control the whole show. And, if the movement is smart, Republicans who don’t learn this lesson will face real, red pro-access challengers in their next primary. 

The results of this election will make the next four years difficult and no doubt we will all be on high alert. But, our problems are structural. They aren’t red or blue, which means that this election was not the beginning, and it’s not the end.

Onward.