To prevent abortions, vote Democratic

Reducing the rate of abortion is an important goal for many of us, so we need to examine the two opposite methods offered for achieving this. Comparing actual current Republican and Democratic policies illustrates the choices we are making when we vote.

Republican Policies:

Democratic Policies:

The availability and cost of basic health care are essential issues for women. By trying to eliminate or reduce funding for the Affordable Care Act and by preventing the expansion of Medicaid, Republicans also simultaneously reduce the availability of birth control and prenatal care.

Since Medicaid covers about 50% of all U.S. births and 75% of public financing for family planning, Republican policies to reduce Medicaid limit reproductive care and mean almost half of low-income women will not be able to use Medicaid for health insurance. Prohibiting Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood services also means no more screening for diabetes, cancer, STDs or high blood pressure, and no more vaccines and preventative health care for marginal or underserved communities.

By eliminating abortion guidance, this step also eliminates help with birth control (which is a goal of some members of the pro-life movement).

Democratic policies include increasing the availability of income support for personal insurance (the Affordable Care Act) and supporting Medicaid and Planned Parenthood for both men and women who are poor and who need help not only with birth control and abortion, but also with basic health services, including screening for sexually transmitted diseases.

The Republican goal of making abortion illegal in all or most cases means that the criminal-legal system would control what doctors, nurses and patients discuss and decide. Democratic policies place abortion inside the health care system, support increased availability of health insurance, demand personal responsibility from women, and give doctors, nurses and patients the right to discuss women's choices.

Historically, since Roe v. Wade, the abortion rate has decreased more under Democratic administrations than under Republicans. In the U.S. during the last 40 years while abortion was legal and safe and birth control was available, the rate of abortion declined by almost 50%. Abortions reached the lowest number in 2017 (when the Affordable Care Act continued unimpeded), and then began increasing in 2018 and 2019 under the Trump administration, as Republicans systematically tried to reduce or eliminate Obamacare, to eliminate Planned Parenthood and to reject the expansion of Medicaid.

When we vote, we choose whether or not to support reproductive health care for all women. When we vote, we decide whether the criminal-legal system and the "back-alley" or the health care system of patients, doctors and nurses should "control" reproduction.