Speaking three weeks before the midterm elections, President Joe Biden on Tuesday laid out Democrats’ prospective plan to protect abortion rights should they win the House and Senate majorities in November, urging Democrats to vote so that Congress can send him a bill to make reproductive rights federal law.
Surrounded by blue and pink signs that read “Restore Roe,” “Defend Choice” and “Elect Democrats,” Biden called the elections a critical “inflection point,” specifically calling on young people to turn out in the coming weeks.
“The decisions we make now are going to determine the future of our nation and the future of your generation for the next 30 or more years,” Biden said on stage at a theater in Washington, D.C., the site of a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee.
Yet the Democrats’ likelihood of winning a majority in both houses is slim. Republicans are favored to win the House, according to the Cook Political Report’s latest ratings, while the balance of the Senate is still uncertain.
Biden on Tuesday said he believed the the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning abortion rights this summer would motivate women to vote, citing record turnout in Kansas to block a ballot measure that would have allowed more restrictions.
“One of the most extraordinary parts of that [Supreme Court] decision, in my view, was when the majority wrote, quote, ‘Women are not without … electoral or political power,’” he said.
“Let me tell you something. The court and the extreme Republicans have spent decades trying to overturn Roe are about to find out,” the president added. “They ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Earlier this fall, Democrats and organizers said they saw a surge in engagement and voter registration among women after the Supreme Court’s decision, though that momentum appears to have stagnated.
A recent CBS News poll found those who ranked abortion as “very important” to their vote fell slightly from September to October.
But it’s still top of mind for some voters: a recent Fox News found 21% of voters said abortion was a “deal-breaker” for them, above any other issue.
The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee on Tuesday called Biden’s speech “out of touch with the concerns of families.”
“Democrats can’t distract from the Biden pay cut, the higher prices, and the tax increases they have inflicted on voters,” Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Republicans will win in November because we are focused on the issues voters care about most.”
Biden on Tuesday told Americans that the only way to protect abortion rights for the longhaul is for Congress to pass a law to codify the protections. He promised to sign a law in January if Democrats win the majority and get a law through the House and Senate.
“If you do your part and vote for Democratic leaders in Congress, I promise you we’ll do our part. I’ll do my part,” he said.
