WASHINGTON — Democrats who won governorships and other statewide offices in Tuesday’s midterm elections are already pledging to expand abortion access, the national abortion-rights group Reproductive Freedom for All said Friday.
The group, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a Nov. 6 statement that newly elected leaders in several states, including Texas and Georgia, have laid out plans to roll back restrictions or protect access to care. It described both states as having been under Republican control for decades and having some of the strictest abortion limits in the country.
“Voters broke Republican gridlock and delivered a clear mandate to protect reproductive freedom,” said Mini Timmaraju, the group’s president and CEO.
In Georgia, Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms has said she will work with legislative leaders to address the state’s six-week abortion ban once she takes office, according to the group, which cited a post she made on X.
In Texas, Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson has promised not to pursue outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ongoing cases against out-of-state providers of medication abortion, the group said, citing reporting by the Texas Tribune.
The statement also pointed to Pennsylvania, where it said Gov. Josh Shapiro plans to make abortion a priority in the first 100 legislative days of the state’s first Democratic trifecta in more than 30 years.
In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker released a “Day One Agenda” urging Congress to restore protections lost after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and to protect travel across state lines for care, the group said. It added that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey took emergency action to keep a law she signed in August, which removes restrictions on abortion later in pregnancy, in effect until it goes before voters in 2028.
“Our champions are already showing they’re ready to turn that mandate into action, and we’re ready to help them deliver,” Timmaraju said.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion regulation to the states.
Reproductive Freedom for All says it has more than 4.5 million members and has worked for more than 55 years on abortion access, birth control, pregnancy care and paid family leave.
This report is based on information from Reproductive Freedom for All.
Source: Reproductive Freedom for All
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