We Don’t Need to Compromise on Abortion

By Mixte Communications

Reflections

This is the second blog post in our summer 2024 series about how we can all mobilize against Project 2025, the policy guide for conservative presidential candidates produced by the Heritage Foundation.

The series draws attention to the so-called “breakdown of the family,” which is the #1 theme behind the policy recommendations outlined in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership.” It describes how a conservative presidential regime will “decide America’s future” by ending abortion, attacking trans people and protecting white supremacy.

Mixte spoke with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon’s Executive Director Samantha Gladu about how we can resist, with both civic and community engagement.

Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Have you seen a shift over time in how the right wing is attacking reproductive rights and health care access? How is it different now from in the past?

Restrictive voting laws, gerrymandering and voter suppression have paved the way for attacks on reproductive freedom.

In the 2010 elections, we saw anti-abortion politicians win election to Congress and state legislatures, and then they used gerrymandering and voting restrictions to entrench themselves in office. Through expensive and systematic attacks on voting rights and abortion, white Christian nationalists seek to cement their power and erode the rights of women, people of color and those with low incomes.

Now that Roe has fallen, we can be sober in the assessment that the legal framework we had before wasn’t good enough.

Roe allowed for bans after “viability,” and in 1992 the Supreme Court case Casey greenlit restrictions that didn’t cause an “undue burden.” States enacted so many abortion restrictions between then and the fall of Roe, that abortion access was effectively blocked for people of color and low income people.

Now we have an opportunity to redesign systems and standards for reproductive freedom to secure what we need and not leave communities behind. We should not seek to replicate or codify Roe v. Wade. We should aim for something better.

How are you, and other partners, combating this?

It is not by accident that Oregon is the most protective state for abortion access in our country. It is because community activists and advocates have worked hard to make sure we are that way. We will keep fighting every day to make sure we stay that way.

Bold organizing and wide ranging partnerships help us win budgetary investments in healthcare, statutory protections of rights and a movement that is ready to pass one of the most expansive and inclusive pro-abortion ballot measures at play nationwide.

We’re working with a coalition of organizations to launch the Equal Rights for All campaign, a ballot initiative for the November 2026 election. This will be the opportunity for voters to update Oregon’s constitution to make clear that everyone has equal rights to make private and personal decisions about one’s health care, regardless of one’s ability to become pregnant, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We’ll also be finally removing the outdated, anti-LGBTQ+ language in the Oregon Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Ballot measures are an effective tool for restoring and protecting abortion rights, and there are many campaigns throughout the country right now.

Is there anything that progressive movements overlook or misunderstand about the latest right-wing threats?

We don’t need to compromise on abortion: the majority of people in this country support abortion, and a large portion of people do not want government interference at any point in pregnancy.

Abortion is popular, and a normal part of our reproductive lives for those with the capacity to become pregnant. Guttmacher research shows that for the past decade, an estimated one in four U.S. women of reproductive age will have an abortion by age 45. Our own internalized shame and stigma is important to unpack, because it can prevent us from taking action and make us think we need to compromise.

We need to ask ourselves what true reproductive justice looks like, and then win policies that help achieve that. Anti-abortion opponents will never be appeased by compromise, and are ruling through voter suppression and gerrymandering.

How can we prevent Project 2025’s dangerous vision from being realized? What would you call our readers to do?

Adopt pro-abortion ballot measures, champion voting rights and devote your resources to organizing.

There are campaigns across the country that need your support, and are a vital antidote to cruel politicians and systemic voter disenfranchisement. Please be an active participant. Voting is a bare minimum. Volunteer, donate and help organize your community.

Extremist politicians’ attacks on women, trans people and people in same-gender relationships come from a long history of discrimination. These politicians know that they can destroy all of our rights and freedoms by targeting one group after another. By uniting and fighting for our rights together, we’re ensuring a future where no one is left behind.

Cast your vote for abortion access

Take action today for reproductive justice. Pledge your support for abortion access, and become a citizen co-sponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act.