Abortion Is Key For Black Women Ahead Of Presidential Election

More than 25% of Black women feel abortion is the key topic going into the upcoming 2024 presidential election. 

A poll from KFF, a health policy research firm, revealed 28% of Black women were focused on abortion before going to the polls. Including 19% of women living in states where abortion is banned and 17% of women under age 50, two-thirds of the participants wanted abortion legalized in all or most cases. 

This is a major demographic shift from white, conservative evangelicals in 2020 who voted for former president Donald Trump, who promised to appoint Supreme Court judges who were in favor of taking away women’s constitutional right to an abortion. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the tables have turned. “It’s a complete shift,” KFF pollster Ashley Kirzinger said. “Abortion voters are young, Black women — and not white evangelicals.”

More than half of Black Americans live in the South, where a majority of the strictest abortion regulations have been placed. As of 2023, close to 25 million women are living in states with new restrictions after the high court’s decision. As the country braces for a rematch of Biden versus Trump in the polls, Biden has vowed to protect abortion access. Since women, and Black women in particular, were crucial to Biden’s win over Trump in 2020, combating the issue may keep him in the Oval Office for a second term. “Abortion — it’s clearly resonating with this group,” Kirzinger said. 

“When we think about abortion access and who is disadvantaged, it’s Black women.”

Black women advocacy groups across the country have been putting in the work to make sure women are educated on reproductive rights in the political sector. With Trump presumably back on the ballot, some say it’s time for people to be held accountable. “As we get to this next cycle of elected officials and leaders, we absolutely want to hold folks accountable to ensure that we can have bodily autonomy and power over our bodies,” Ashlei Spivey, founder of I Be Black Girl, said, according to WOWT. 

The Omaha, Nebraska, organization took part in a legislative day on March 7 to teach citizens how to approach legislators about issues that concern them. Describing the political process as “complex,” Spivey wants to give women resources and courage to be strong advocates. “We first described the legislative process because it can be so complex,” Spivey said. “And then from there we gave them tools to be able to then say ‘this is how I want to advocate’ or ‘here’s what I want to you to uplift.’”

For the new organization SHERO, women’s reproductive rights are critical. SHERO, an acronym for “shaping healthy equitable reproductive outcomes,” supports expecting mothers. Buffy Bush, director of SHERO Omaha, said abortion rights are key for the work she does, and helping women find their voice at the polls is crucial. “We are going to encourage them to vote based on their beliefs and the work for us is to continue to encourage them to find their inner SHERO,” Bush said. 

Currently, laws in Nebraska prohibit abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

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