Health Care

Analysis: The GOP gamble on abortion

The broader electorate has demonstrated that abortion rights are an electoral priority.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signs a bill banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, on Thursday April 13, 2023. (Courtesy of the Florida governor’s office)

In the years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national right to an abortion, anti-abortion rights advocates have notched a string of legislative victories in red states across the country. The latest came Thursday, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill creating criminal penalties for those who perform or participate in abortions after six weeks.

But the movement’s success puts the Republican Party in a complicated position: Their candidates first face a base that demands strict adherence to anti-abortion legislation, and then face a broader electorate that has demonstrated, repeatedly in recent years, that abortion rights are an electoral priority.

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