Democrats aren't shying away from abortion talk this election — they're capitalizing on it

• Democrats have made abortion and reproductive rights a central issue this year.
• Senate Democrats are launching ads in key swing states attacking the GOP's anti-abortion stance.
• Polling shows rising support for legal abortion, with Democrats hoping to sway centrist voters.

Democrats are putting abortion — a topic they've historically downplayed — front and center this election.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced Monday, on the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, that it's launching an ad blitz targeting women voters in key swing states. The online ads attack the Republican agenda to limit access to reproductive care, ban abortions nationwide, and eliminate a person's right to make decisions about their bodies.

The ads will appear on women-focused lifestyle websites such as Cosmopolitan.com, HarpersBazaar.com, ThePioneerWoman.com, and WellPlated.com, the committee said in a press release Monday. And they'll reach voters in 10 key swing states — Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

"Senate Republicans have spent years using every tool they have to take away women's right to make our own health care decisions," Annie Lentz, a spokesperson for the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, said in the press release.

"The anniversary of the Republican Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade underscores the stakes of this year's Senate elections and the importance of protecting Democrats' Senate majority with the power to confirm or deny Supreme Court justices," Lentz continued. "These ads will remind voters of the threat GOP Senate candidates pose to our rights, freedoms, and health and why they must be defeated in November."

The debate is no longer just about abortion — it's become about pregnancy itself and access to life-saving medical care.

According to a recent poll from Pew Research Center, a record-high 63% of US adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most states — 2 points higher than the months before the Dobbs decision came down in June 2022. And a record percentage of Americans — 32% — now say they would vote for a candidate solely based on their abortion stance, according to a Gallup poll.

Even Republican and moderate women are increasingly evolving their views away from the traditional GOP stance of a total ban — in February, 39% said their party's views on abortion are "too extreme," The New York Times reported, citing a public opinion researcher.

Democrats know the issue could be a turning point for independent voters and even some Republicans, and they're using it to their advantage.

Senate Democrats have been bringing more bills focused on reproductive rights to a vote — like the "Right to IVF Act," which Republicans blocked earlier this month.

And President Joe Biden has made it a central point of his 2024 reelection campaign. He's hoping that the issue of abortion can turn Florida blue this fall, and he's repeatedly promised to restore Roe.