The Biden campaign seems to be ramping up efforts to attack Trump on the issues of abortion, fertility, and women’s reproductive rights. Biden seems happy to make this a central election issue despite his own complicated history.
The President sees a case to be made to blame Trump for threatening abortion, an issue that has energized voters in recent years to come to the polls to defend, even in conservative states.
Biden Ad Campaign
The Biden campaign has launched a flurry of ads in the wake of abortion rulings in states like Arizona whose court recently upheld that getting an abortion is a felony.
States were scrambling to pass legislation to protect abortion in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a decision Trump has proudly taken credit for.
Ads Hitting Trump
One ad has President Biden directly addressing voters on abortion saying “The question is — if Donald Trump gets back in power, what freedom will you lose next?
Another ad, posted to Biden’s account on X, tells the story of a woman who almost died from a miscarriage, saying “More than 1 in 3 women in America now lives under an abortion ban, with more on the way. Donald Trump did this.”
Biden’s Strategy
Democrat strategists think that hitting Trump on abortion is a way for Biden to do something bigger than himself and avoid the pitfalls of his struggling approval ratings.
“It’s less important for Biden to be the messenger on this, and more important for our folks who can talk personally about the impact this has already had in their lives,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder of the Democratic political group Run for Something. “This is not abstract for them. That is more compelling than anything Biden can say or do.”
First-person Storytelling
Several Democrat ads contain a focus on first-person storytelling, keeping Biden’s presence in them to a minimum. They have had success in places like Ohio and Kentucky, states that lean conservative but have protected the right to abortion in their states recently
One ad for Andy Beshear’s Kentucky governor campaign featured Hadley Duvall, a victim of sexual violence who would have been forced to carry her baby to term under policies favored by Kentucky Republicans.
Building New Coalitions
Political analysts see the abortion issue as one that can build coalitions and inroads among voters who typically don’t lean left.
“The voters who moved the most when hearing messages like Hadley’s were the opposite of the voters you might think,” said Democratic strategist Eric Hyers. “It was rural voters, male voters, older voters, Republican voters, non-college educated voters.”
The Public Supports Abortion
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Biden is banking that his strategic offensive on the abortion issue will get people out to vote. A March KFF poll found that 1 in 8 voters say abortion is the most important issue for their vote.
The US public generally supports keeping abortion legal in at least some cases. Gallup found in 2023 that three-quarters of Americans think abortion should be legal in the first trimester.
Biden’s History
While Biden is on the attack against Trump on abortion, the President has a complicated history on the topic himself. As a US senator, Biden voted for a constitutional amendment to let states overturn Roe v. Wade.
Biden has also refused to use the word abortion many times during his current campaign and notably during the State of the Union address, a move which drew criticism from pro-life voters.
Trump Not Strong on the Issue
Biden’s attacks on Trump have exposed a vulnerability he has with this issue and his base. Trump recently had to release a video clarifying his position on abortion and fertility treatments, but not calling for a national abortion ban.
Instead, Trump is playing a delicate game by saying abortion should be left up to the states, hoping to play both sides of the issue to avoid alienating supporters.
Fertility Treatments at Risk
One consequence of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a threat to certain fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF). In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the embryos used in these treatments should be considered children.
Despite taking a pro-life position, Trump and many prominent Republicans have supported IVF, which more hard-line pro-life conservatives reject.
Trump’s Shifting Position on Abortion
Another weakness Trump has on this issue is that his stance has changed over the years, providing a big opportunity for Biden to paint him as dishonest when he refuses to take a strong stance.
“Trump, who has tried to constantly change his position on abortion — the Biden campaign has to really tag him with his own words,” said Martha McKenna, a Democratic strategist. “And we have plenty of ammo to do that because we know he wants to outlaw abortion.”
Avoiding Blame
One aspect of Biden’s strategy in going on the attack is to assuage anger in his base that lingers because the overturning of Roe v. Wade happened while he was President.
Some pro-life supporters have seen the current chaos as a failure by Biden and Democrats to do more to protect Roe v. Wade across the country. They argue Democrats have had decades since the Roe decision to enshrine abortion into federal law and have consistently failed. By going on the attack, Biden projects confidence that he can fix the issue and shifts the blame away from himself and his party.
