The future of abortion is at stake in the U.S. election — and the fight is on in Arizona and Florida
CBC
On a sweltering day in Mesa, Ariz., people file into a neighbourhood church to watch a town hall with Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance. Nearby, a mega bus is splashed with a loud message: Vote "no" on Proposition 139, a ballot measure proposing to make abortion — currently banned after 15 weeks — a constitutional right in Arizona.
Barbara Miller, who lets out a cheerful "Go Trump!" as she approaches the event, likes Trump and Vance's tough talk on border security. But the registered Republican from nearby suburb Gilbert takes a more moderate tone when discussing the abortion referendum.
"I have mixed feelings about that, frankly," said Miller. "I think we're a big country with a lot of different religions, a lot of different opinions, a lot of different cultures. And I think that it's hard to have one answer for everyone."
When they cast their ballot for president in two weeks, U.S. voters in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Maryland, New York, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota will also vote on the future of abortion access in their states.
Miller's stance is a window into the complicated fight currently playing out across the country — one that no longer lends itself to tidy partisan narratives, in a post-Roe v. Wade era where abortion rights are left up to individual states.
Party divides over abortion have widened in the past decade. At the same time, more Americans support legal abortion now than they did before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was overturned in 2022.
That leaves supporters and opponents of election amendments, which should change individual states' policies, in a fierce tug of war to reach those who can be persuaded to vote outside traditional party lines — especially as some Republican candidates soften their stance on abortion for fear of alienating any voters.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has expressed strong support for reinstating Roe v. Wade, though some abortion activists want her to go further.
Miller, the Trump supporter, didn't say how she would vote on Proposition 139.
"I think there's compromises there," she said."I don't believe in all or nothing."
CBC News spoke with voters, experts, advocates and opponents in Arizona and Florida who shared how the fight over abortion is playing out on the ground in the run-up to the 2024 U.S. election.
During a voter education event at a community college in Mesa, volunteers with the League of Women Voters of Arizona hand out pamphlets to students passing by with information on various amendments.
The group, which has a mandate to expand and protect voters' rights, is part of a coalition supporting Proposition 139.
"We are hearing within our own circles in the league that this transcends party," said Pinny Sheoran, the Scottsdale-based president of the group's Arizona branch.
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