Abortion rights group urges new Democratic majorities to act on voter ‘mandate’

A voting sign on a sidewalk outside a polling place

WASHINGTON — The national abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All on Friday called on newly elected Democratic majorities in Congress and in several statehouses to move quickly on abortion access, arguing that voters in the Nov. 3 midterm elections handed them a mandate to do so.

In a memo dated Nov. 13 and addressed to “interested parties,” the organization, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the election results had changed what is politically possible on abortion policy and raised the cost for opponents who stand in the way.

The group said nearly 24 million women now live in states where Democrats hold new governing trifectas — control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers. It singled out Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Minnesota and Nevada as states where lawmakers could add protections.

Its state-by-state wish list includes shield protections for abortion providers in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania; telemedicine shield laws in Minnesota and Nevada; higher Medicaid reimbursement rates in Michigan and Pennsylvania; and statutory or constitutional abortion protections in Wisconsin. The memo also urged repeal of what the group called medically unnecessary restrictions, including waiting periods and parental involvement rules in Michigan.

In North Carolina, where the group said Democrats won the state House while control of the Senate remains unresolved, it called for repealing the state’s 12-week abortion ban if the final results allow and for cutting state funding for anti-abortion pregnancy centers. It said the state directed more than $10 million to such centers in 2026.

At the federal level, the group acknowledged that a potential presidential veto will shape what becomes law, but urged the incoming Democratic majorities to force votes and use their funding and oversight powers. Its priorities include a federal law protecting abortion rights, enshrining a right to contraception, expanded access to IVF, a national paid family and medical leave program, reversing Medicaid cuts in last year’s Republican budget law, restoring expired Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and ending the Hyde Amendment’s ban on federal abortion coverage.

The memo also called for blocking judicial and executive nominees the group views as hostile to reproductive rights and for structural changes to the Supreme Court, including adding justices, term limits and an enforceable ethics code.

The new Congress is scheduled to be sworn in in January. Republicans retain their majorities through the current lame-duck session.

This report is based on information from Reproductive Freedom for All.

Source: Reproductive Freedom for All

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