WASHINGTON — Democrats who won statewide offices in Tuesday’s midterm elections, including in Georgia and Texas, are already pledging to act on abortion access, according to the national abortion-rights group Reproductive Freedom for All.
In a Nov. 6 release, the group, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, highlighted commitments from governors and other officials in six states and said voters had handed Democrats a mandate on reproductive rights.
In Georgia, Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms said she will work with state House and Senate leaders to address Georgia’s six-week abortion ban once she takes office, according to the release. The group noted she is the first Black woman elected governor in the state.
In Texas, Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson has promised not to advance Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ongoing cases against out-of-state providers who supply medication abortion to Texans, the group said, citing reporting by The Texas Tribune.
The release said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro plans to make abortion a priority in the first 100 legislative days of what it called the state’s first Democratic trifecta in more than 30 years. It said Wisconsin Gov.-elect David Crowley had named enshrining abortion access in the state constitution as a top priority late in his campaign.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, following his reelection, released a “Day One Agenda” urging Congress to restore protections lost after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision and to protect interstate travel for care, the group said. It also said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey took emergency action Nov. 6 to keep a state law easing restrictions on abortion later in pregnancy in effect until it goes before voters in 2028.
“Voters broke Republican gridlock and delivered a clear mandate to protect reproductive freedom,” Mini Timmaraju, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement. She added that the officials are “ready to turn that mandate into action” and that the organization is “ready to help them deliver.”
Reproductive Freedom for All says it has more than 4.5 million members. The release did not mention New Jersey, where abortion rights are protected under a 2022 state law.
This report is based on information from Reproductive Freedom for All.
Source: Reproductive Freedom for All
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