Article Summary –
Planned Parenthood plans to spend $40 million to support President Joe Biden and key Democrats in the upcoming November elections, focusing on states where access to abortion is a central issue. The group believes that voters’ anger over Republican efforts to limit access to abortion could tip the balance in favor of Democrats. Abortion rights have remained a highly important political issue in the US, notably following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two years ago, which led to many Republican-led states imposing new restrictions on abortion.
As a response to the wave of Republican-led efforts to curb abortion access, Planned Parenthood has announced its plan to invest $40 million to support President Joe Biden and leading congressional Democrats in the upcoming November’s elections.
The reproductive health and abortion rights advocacy organization, will direct its resources towards eight key states including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Biden’s 2020 victories are being defended. Other targets are North Carolina, which Biden’s campaign hopes to flip, along with Montana, New Hampshire and New York, where the Senate and House control races could be influenced.
The campaign will utilize volunteer and paid canvassing, phone banking, and multi-platform advertising to engage voters. Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, expressed confidence that focusing on abortion rights will energize voters and lead to victory.
This initiative, however, does not represent the highest electoral spending by the group, as it previously spent $45 million and $50 million ahead of the 2020 presidential and 2022 midterm elections, respectively.
Following the two-year-old Supreme Court decision of overturning Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood has prioritized supporting races with abortion rights on the ballot. The group argues that the consequences of anti-abortion politicians in power have been devastating since the ruling.
Meanwhile, seven states including California, Michigan, Vermont, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and Ohio have sided with abortion-rights supporters on ballot measures. There are also planned referendums on abortion in several other states, including Arizona, Nevada and Florida.
SBA Pro-Life America, a major anti-abortion rights group, has announced its $92 million campaign targeting eight battleground states. In addition, local Planned Parenthood advocacy organizations in seven states are planning campaigns for November.
The group’s advocacy efforts will extend to down-ballot races, like supporting Democrats aiming for a supermajority in the Nevada statehouse, or opposing two state supreme court justices in Arizona who voted to allow enforcement of an 1864 law that criminalized nearly all abortions.
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