Reproductive Rights and Abortion Access At The Center Of Election

Think Big America recently hosted a panel discussion with leaders from the Fairness Project, Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Action Fund to talk about reproductive rights and ballot initiatives regarding abortion. PHOTO BY TIA CAROL JONES
Think Big America recently hosted a panel discussion with leaders from the Fairness Project, Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Action Fund to talk about reproductive rights and ballot initiatives regarding abortion. PHOTO BY TIA CAROL JONES

Reproductive Rights and Abortion Access At The Center Of Election

By Tia Carol Jones

Think Big America recently hosted a panel discussion with leaders from the Fairness Project, Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Action Fund to talk about reproductive rights and ballot initiatives regarding abortion. The panel was moderated by Sarah Garza Resnick, Executive Director of Personal PAC.

The goal of the discussion titled, “Freedom on the Ballot,” was to talk about what has been happening in states when it comes to reproductive rights and abortion access. A number of states have restricted abortion access due to Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), and concluded that the Constitution, does not protect a person’s right to an abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Center for Reproductive Rights, in 10 states, abortions are banned with no exceptions for rape or incest; eight states abortion is legal with a gestational limit of 6 to18 weeks; in 10 states, abortions are legal until viability.

Garza Resnick said Personal PAC has been really successful in its mission to keep abortions safe, legal and accessible in Illinois, something the organization has been doing for more than 30 years. She said that in 2023, Illinois took in more than 37,000 people who were looking to receive compassionate abortion care. She added that abortion care is healthcare.

Garza Resnick was joined by Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All; Kelly Hall, Executive Director of the Fairness Project; Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Founder of Think Big America; Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund to talk about abortion rights being a fundamental issue for the 2024 Election.

Timmaraju said that this is the first presidential election since the Dobbs decision. She said the reason why abortion continues to be such a salient issue is because the longer the bans go on, the more horror stories of women and their experiences continue. She said the stories women shared during the first night of the Democratic National Committee Convention were just the tip of the iceberg of what women have had to endure with abortion bans.

McGill Johnson said while abortion bans make pregnancy more dangerous, it is also raising awareness to the range of reproductive care that is under attack.

“People are incredibly outraged. Women are outraged, their families are outraged, communities are outraged. I think that is what the driver actually is,” McGill Johnson said is a reason why abortion rights is one of the most important issues during this election.

Hall said that while issues like climate change, the economy and inflation might seem abstract, there is nothing abstract about people needing healthcare. She said people understand they vote for a ballot initiative in November and the law changes in January. And, that personal relationship between a personal issue and the personal action is what makes change, which is unique in the political landscape and empowering to people who want to see change.

Pritzker acknowledged that the Dobbs decision was a step backwards. He said he would never have imagined that rights would diminish, not expand in the United States. He said with this issue, that is so personal to people, he can’t believe that his daughter has less rights than his mother had.

“2024 is the first presidential election since Dobbs. It is the first time that people get to express themselves in a presidential election about the diminishment of those rights and that is why I think so many of you showed up this morning, why so much of the discussion in the hall at the United Center is about this issue,” Pritzker said.

The panel also talked about the equitable access to the rights people vote for. Panelists agreed that while support is good, sustained support ballot measures like abortion access, with collaboration between organizations like Planned Parenthood, Reproductive Freedom for All is even better. They also agreed that having governors and legislators that support abortion access helps forward the movement.




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