Governor Whitmer Urges Biden to Push Harder for Abortion Rights

Alicia Diaz
·1 min read
162
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

(Bloomberg) -- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that the Biden administration should be more assertive about its support for abortion rights ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Most Read from Bloomberg

“I don’t think it would hurt. I think people want to know that this is a president that is fighting,” Whitmer said on CBS’s Face the Nation. Whitmer added that using more “blunt language” would be helpful as he communicates his belief that women, not politicians, should make their own decisions.

Democrats increased abortion rights messaging after conservative justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2002. The issue remains central to the party’s efforts to sway women and more moderate voters.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will headline an abortion rights rally in Virginia this week. Biden’s campaign said the event will “underscore what is at stake for reproductive freedom in 2024,” while communicating Biden’s “commitment to codifying the protections of Roe into law.”

Their campaign is also releasing television advertisements this week to run in battleground states marking the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Democrats are seeking to tie the issue to former President Donald Trump and his appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices that made Roe’s overturn possible.

Republican candidate Nikki Haley has suggested the idea of a ban on late-term abortions, though said that some restrictive laws would be difficult or impossible to pass through Congress.

Michigan approved a proposition to ingrain abortion access into the state constitution during the 2022 election, joining a small number of other states with such protections.

Read more: Midterm Voters Send Clear Message on Support for Abortion Rights

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.