An Overturned Roe Would Be The Greatest Gift To Democrats Heading Into 2022
An end to national abortion rights would become a huge motivation to push Democratic voters to the polls in the midterms
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday on a challenge to a Mississippi abortion ban which has broader implications for the future of abortion rights nationwide.
The muscular 6-3 right-wing supermajority on the court reportedly appears ready to use the Mississippi law as a vehicle with which to strike down Roe v Wade, the high court's precedent which has guaranteed national access to legal abortions for nearly a half century.
The political right has been salivating for the end of Roe for several decades now.
But sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.
Because, any move by the nation’s highest court to throw national abortion rights into question might satisfy right-wingers, but it would probably immediately scramble the political calculus heading into next year's midterm elections.
Republicans may be seeing the beginnings of positive signs for next year, including a potential to retake the majority in the House of Representatives, but those advantages could likely be swept away — almost literally overnight — by a defeat for Roe v Wade.
Why?
Because although Republicans and those on the political right may oppose abortion rights, the nation’s voters overall support abortion rights — by large margins.
With these levels of support behind maintaining Roe v Wade and ensuring future abortion rights, the all-important enthusiasm going into the midterms would flip-flop, from Republicans, to angry Democrats looking to something to restore that access to safe and legal abortions.
Turnout among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would probably jump back up to the levels recorded in the 2018 midterms, which both saw the highest voter participation level for a midterm election since 1914 and the largest blue wave in decades.
If that were to happen, and Democrats actually increased their majorities in Congress, it's entirely possible that these newly emboldened Democratic lawmakers could be in a position to push through legislation to codify abortion rights in federal law.
And Republicans will have won a battle — and lost the war.
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