In Wisconsin, Kamala Harris ties Donald Trump to Republicans' ongoing abortion challenge (2024)

Underscoring the continuing role abortion plays in Democrats’ plan for the fall election, Vice President Kamala Harris told supporters in La Crosse Monday that Wisconsinites’ “fundamental principles and ideals” will be on the ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision struck down Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.

“There is a direct nexus between where we are on this subject and elections,” Harris said at a campaign event at the La Crosse Center following an announcement earlier in the day that the Biden administration would start requiring nursing homes to abide by minimum staffing levels and have a registered nurse available around the clock. “And on this subject in particular, there is a clear line between where we are now and who is to blame.”

Democrats expect abortion rights to play a critical role in the upcoming presidential election, particularly among more moderate voters and suburban women, a voter block former President Donald Trump has struggled to secure. Reproductive health advocates say that’s particularly true in Wisconsin, which is once again expected to be one of just a handful of states poised to play a deciding role in who takes the White House.

The topic of reproductive health has proven difficult for Republicans to counter, with Democratic candidates winning recent races — including Gov. Tony Evers’ successful reelection bid in 2022 and liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s election to the state Supreme Court last year — when abortion was a major campaign issue.

With the November election less than 200 days away, President Joe Biden continues to hammer Trump on the issue. While Trump had backed a national ban on abortions and pledged to overturn Roe v. Wade in his 2016 campaign, the former president has softened his stance in the face of increased backlash.

Trump said earlier this month he was proud to have ended the constitutional right to abortion under Roe. Trump also said he does not endorse a nationwide ban on abortions but instead supports leaving the matter up to the states.

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the former president “has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion.”

UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said Trump’s wavering on the issue reflects the dilemma Republicans face.

“On the one hand they have gotten the policy they would like, or a big step towards it, by striking down Roe v. Wade, and yet it’s put them in a difficult position with the electorate because this issue is so salient with voters and they are on the losing side of it in most states, including Wisconsin,” Burden said.

Lawsuits over 1849 law

In Wisconsin, multiple lawsuits have been filed seeking clarity on whether an 1849 law banning feticide also applies to abortion. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which shifted to a liberal majority last year, is expected to have the final say on the matter.

As part of Biden’s effort to firmly tie Trump to the issue of abortion, Amanda Zurawski, of Texas, and Kaitlyn Joshua, of Louisiana, met with state and local officials in Madison last week to share their firsthand experiences with strict abortion laws in their respective states after Roe was overturned in the summer of 2022.

Zurawski said she experienced “catastrophic complications” when she was about 18 weeks pregnant in 2022. Instead of inducing her to end the pregnancy, doctors waited several days until she went into septic shock and her life was considered to be in danger — one of the rare instances in which doctors can intervene due to Texas abortion laws.

“What I went through was nothing short of barbaric, and it did not need to happen,” Zurawski said. “It was completely avoidable, it was preventable, but it did happen because of Donald Trump.”

A Marquette Law School poll released last week found abortion was the top issue among Democratic voters at 24%. The economy is the top issue among Republicans at 43%, while abortion policy was a distant third, with only 5% of Republicans saying it was the most important issue.