State legislatures are the most important level of the ballot when it comes to deciding reproductive freedoms
WASHINGTON — Today, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee unveiled a new memo highlighting how states are the ultimate arbiters of reproductive freedom. Since the fall of Roe, every state with a Republican trifecta has pushed to enact abortion bans or restrictions, while every state with a Democratic legislative majority has taken action to protect or expand abortion. At any point, extreme anti-abortion legislation introduced in one corner of the country could reach a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opens the door for other states, or even the entire country, to apply such restrictions. Given this grim reality, states have never been more important to shaping policy or our future.
To read the full memo, click here.
Important details in this memo include:
- An overview of the national landscape of GOP attacks on abortion and reproductive rights, including extreme and dangerous efforts to pass fetal personhood bills threatening access to contraception and family planning
- The stakes for reproductive rights in 2024 and why supporting the DLCC and electing Democratic majorities in the states is the strongest way to protect fundamental reproductive freedom in post-Dobbs America
- The reality that state legislatures are now the most important level of the ballot when it comes to reproductive freedoms and electing Democrats to state legislatures has never been as important as it is today.
As we work to build Democratic power across the country, Republicans must be held accountable for their anti-abortion agenda. That’s why reproductive rights will be a cornerstone of the DLCC’s work this cycle, as we put Republican legislators on blast through campaign messaging, ads, mailers, and direct contact on the ground with allies and partners.
Republicans in legislatures across the country will have to answer for their extremism at the polls in November and the DLCC won’t leave anything to chance.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:
“2024 is the year of the states. Make no mistake: abortion is on the ballot and state legislatures are on the front lines of the battle to protect our reproductive freedoms. Republicans are only getting more and more extreme in their attacks on abortion access, family planning, contraception, and the full spectrum of reproductive care. The split screen of Democrats and Republicans in control of state legislatures couldn’t be clearer: while Republicans work in lockstep to restrict fundamental reproductive freedoms, Democrats have been unified in their commitment to protect and expand abortion access. In order to protect these reproductive freedoms, electing Democrats to state legislatures across the country has never been more important.
“The DLCC has long led the fight to set the agenda to protect reproductive freedoms at the state level, and in 2024 the stakes are crystal clear. Our research shows that Republicans have not stopped attacking our core freedoms across the country. This year, the rights of more than 60 million Americans hang in the balance as we look to our most competitive target states. Electing Democrats to state legislatures is the only path to ensure fundamental freedoms, and the DLCC is leaving nothing to chance. Lives are on the line as we work to elect champions of reproductive freedom and check the unyielding, dangerous extremism of Republicans across the country.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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