After an unidentified source leaked a draft decision of a Supreme Court (SCOTUS) case that would overturn Roe v. Wade, several Democrats are hoping to use the issue to galvanize their base in the 2022 midterms.
The text came as a political shock for Democrats, who have long championed the Roe standard.
“The Republican-appointed Justices’ reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement on May 2. They said the decision would be the “greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) also blasted the decision.
“If tonight’s news is true, Michigan’s 1931 state law banning abortion would snap back into effect, making any abortion illegal in our state—even if the mom will die, or if she was raped by a family member. No exceptions,” she wrote on Twitter. “My poor mother is turning over in her grave.”
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) claimed that overturning Roe v. Wade would “make the dystopian horrors of forced pregnancy a reality.”
Now Democrats, who face grim prospects in upcoming midterms, are hoping that the issue may fire up enough support to help the party’s chances.
“Elections this November will have consequences, because the rights of 100 million women are now on the ballot,“ said Schumer on Tuesday. ”Most of all, cast your ballots this November.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said, “This kind of outcome is exactly what I’ve been ringing alarm bells about—and this is a five alarm fire.”
House Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), called the abortion issue “the central choice in the 2022 election.”
Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has been in the spotlight for her wide-reaching COVID measures, also weighed in.
“Our work is more important than ever,“ Whitmer said. ”I’ll fight like hell to protect abortion access in Michigan.”
However, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he hadn’t given much thought to how Democrats should change their tactics in light of the decision.
“What does this mean for the midterms?” A reporter asked Biden. “What does this mean for the Democrats’ argument in the midterms?”
“I haven’t thought that through yet,” Biden replied.
Even if Democrats were able to use the issue to galvanize their base, past experience has shown that the legislature is unlikely to be able to pass legislation reinstating the Roe and Casey standards.
Last fall, Democrats pushed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified Roe into law, through the House in a largely party-line vote.
Unless Democrats are able to hold the House and pick up a whopping 10 seats in the Senate, there is little they can do to undercut the SCOTUS decision.
Still, it remains to be seen how the decision will change voting dynamics as midterm season begins to truly get underway.
Republicans are widely expected to flip the House back after four years in the minority amid nearly record low approval ratings for the Biden administration. However, the Senate will be tougher, as both parties currently control 50 seats with only a handful of seats on either side up for grabs.
