Democrats reaffirm support for abortion rights on second anniversary of overturning Roe
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- On the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the federal legal right to an abortion, Democrats crisscrossed the battleground state stressing how other reproductive rights could be in jeopardy if former President Donald Trump is reelected.
In two democratic stronghold cities, Democrats held events in Madison and Milwaukee to try and remind voters of what happened two years ago and talked about future threats to reproductive rights such as IVF and birth control as there's been efforts across the country to restrict them.
"In the two years since that Dobbs decision we've seen Republicans across the country step into action and do whatever they can to roll back these rights," said Jessica Mackler, President of EMILYs list, an organization that works to elect Democratic pro-choice women.
Mackler joined Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and other advocates during a roundtable on the east side of Madison. Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) headlined a reproductive rights panel in Milwaukee before holding a rally Monday night in Madison.
It was one of 50 events President Joe Biden's campaign held across the county to mark the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision.
New polling by CBS shows Biden has a substantial lead over Trump among voters who say the issue of abortion will be a major factor in their vote.
However, the former president has a leg up on other issues defining the race with voters who say they prioritize the economy and inflation as their top concerns.
Still, Democrats are banking on abortion rights to help define the race after it proved to be a powerful force during the 2022 midterm elections.
Bill McCoshen, a Republican strategist, has his doubts because abortions are currently legal in Wisconsin after a Dane County judge issued a ruling last year allowing doctors to perform the procedure pending ongoing litigation.
"I don't think it will be as big of an issue here," McCoshen said. "I think people have come to the realization that Wisconsin's current law has a 20-week ban. I think that seems reasonable to a lot of people, so I don't think it will be as powerful as an issue, at least with independent voters as it was in 2022."
Since Dobbs, the landscape of reproductive health in America has changed and so has the opinions of some Republicans including former President Trump.
In April, Trump told supporters he believes abortion restrictions should be left to the states after previously being open to a nationwide ban during his 2016 bid. He's also touted electing three Supreme Court justices to the bench who ruled to overturn the federal right to an abortion.
U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde, who’s challenging Baldwin, has also changed his views on the issue after saying he was "totally opposed" to abortion in 2012. He backs certain exceptions and allowing voters to decide through referendum the number of weeks during a pregnancy at which it would be appropriate to ban abortions.
Hovde has not indicated what that threshold should be but supports allowing women early on in pregnancy to make a choice.
Nearly two dozen states have banned or limited access to abortion following the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision.