Democrats plot patchwork strategy on abortion

WASHINGTON — On Capitol Hill, House Democratic leaders are discussing ways to force Republicans into uncomfortable positions on abortion, plotting potential votes designed to expose GOP opposition to some popular protections and underscore their own commitment to them, according to aides with knowledge of the plans.

At the White House, President Joe Biden first encouraged outraged Americans to express themselves at the ballot box and then, days later, shifted to a more aggressive posture, urging a change to the Senate filibuster to enable Democrats to codify abortion rights. Administration officials are also studying what more can be accomplished via executive action.

And across the country, liberal West Coast governors have joined to create a multistate haven aimed at protecting out-of-state abortion seekers from legal consequences, while TV ads about abortion aimed at helping Democratic candidates are hitting the airwaves in battleground states from New Hampshire to Florida.

"What's most important is that we turn all of this anger and anxiety into action. And that means turning out the votes," said Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat.

The flurry of responses from Democrats to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade amounts to a patchwork approach that will be tested in the next phase of the battle over abortion. The ruling created a new rallying cry for the party aligned with the abortion rights movement that had been bracing for a difficult election season and was struggling to generate excitement for political activism and policymaking. But it has also revealed some divergences in the path forward — at times prompting Democratic aides to flash frustration over the lack of cohesion.

Biden's push for a filibuster change has not persuaded a pair of pivotal Senate Democrats to join his call, leaving that path closed unless they budge. And while the White House explores its options for acting through executive fiat, it is seeking to temper expectations about what is possible, brushing aside some suggestions from activists, as officials note that completely filling the gap left open by the court's ruling is impossible.

The Democratic efforts come as anti-abortion activists say they are not letting up in their political advocacy. "Our ground team is going door to door in battleground states, talking to millions of voters about Biden Democrats' extremism and the need to elect pro-life champions to the House and Senate this year," said Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a recent statement.

Some Democrats say their challenge will be keeping the political conversation focused on abortion in coming weeks in a way that resonates with voters. Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to colleagues Monday noting that leadership had been discussing potential votes related to abortion since a draft opinion of the Supreme Court decision leaked.

These include a measure to protect personal reproductive data stored in apps, to prevent the use of that information against women in states where abortion is not legal. Democrats also want to ensure women do not face criminal penalties for choosing to travel throughout the U.S. to obtain an abortion in a state where it is legal.

House leaders have asked committee chairs to flag legislation that they could consider voting on to hold Republicans accountable on numerous protections, according to two House Democratic aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A House GOP aide, who spoke anonymously, acknowledged that such votes could put them in a tough spot with their base.

Some senior Democratic aides in the Senate have voiced wariness of deploying a similar strategy in their chamber, worrying that holding such kinds of votes might allow GOP senators who voted to confirm Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe to claim they acted to uphold women's reproductive rights.

Those dynamics arose in the Democratic caucus meeting where a group of female senators discussed strategy ahead of the court ruling — tamping down the possibility that there might be a string of "show votes" to demonstrate Republican opposition to abortion rights and potentially other freedoms.

Instead, the three Democrats familiar with the meeting said, a likelier strategy is to attempt over the summer to pass bills on the floor by unanimous consent — a maneuver that would publicly demonstrate GOP opposition to popular measures but would not require all senators to cast votes on them.

"My view of it is that the Republicans are already on the record when it comes to protecting this fundamental freedom of people to be able to decide for themselves about their own body," said Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., at a Washington Post Live event Monday. She added, "I don't really think that any particular votes on the floor of the Senate are going to change that."

Beyond Congress, Democrats also plan to draw attention to state-by-state developments, with several aides to campaign committees saying they expect the legal landscape to shift as the implications of the decision become clearer and as GOP-dominated state legislatures go into special sessions to change existing laws.

Democrats say they expect the issue to resonate in the suburbs, where many of the most competitive midterm battles will be fought.