Title: On Abortion Rights, 2020 Democrats Move Past ‘Safe, Legal and Rare’ - The New York Times
Headings: On Abortion Rights, 2020 Democrats Move Past ‘Safe, Legal and Rare’
On Abortion Rights, 2020 Democrats Move Past ‘Safe, Legal and Rare’
The Democratic presidential candidates don’t want to simply defend abortion rights. They want to go on offense.
A basic reframing
An emboldened defense
A shift to offense
Betting on public opinion
HOW WE COLLECTED THE DATA

Content: Nine want a federal approval process for state abortion laws. And Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose ambivalence on abortion rights has been a theme for decades, is seeking to recast himself as a full-throated champion of them. The 2020 candidates’ responses reflect a fundamental change in the Democratic Party’s approach to reproductive issues. In other areas, from health care to taxes, there is a divide between liberal and moderate candidates. Here, it is minimal. “What you’ve seen is that it’s no longer O.K. for any candidate just to say they’re pro-choice,” said Jacqueline Ayers, vice president for government relations and public policy at Planned Parenthood. “ They’re being very specific on how our rights are under attack, how access to abortion is being undermined in this country, and putting forth plans to protect and expand rights.” With several states passing near-total bans on abortion, and with the first Supreme Court majority in a generation that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the Democratic candidates are at once agreeing that abortion rights require a more forceful defense, and concluding that defense is not enough. The ramifications are hard to predict. The public is strongly supportive of Roe v. Wade, but deeply divided on how accessible abortion should be beyond Roe’s basic protections.