Democrats’ commanding victories have breathed new life for supporters of the reproductive health fight
Supporters of abortion rights have spent much of the last year trying to fight Donald Trump’s attempts to undermine access to the procedure. Now, Democrats’ commanding victories in the 2025 elections have breathed new life into the fight.
Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill’s respective gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey will shield abortion rights in two states that have become havens for people fleeing abortion bans. In Pennsylvania, voters decided to retain three liberal supreme court justices, maintaining Democratic control of a bench that could decide the future of abortion rights in the deeply purple state.
The sweeping support for California’s Proposition 50, a redistricting measure that will help Democrats pick up extra seats in the US House, will also likely defend national access to abortion. If Republicans are able to strengthen their grip on the US House and Senate in 2026, they may secure the votes they need to pass an abortion ban or extend legislation that has already left Planned Parenthood defunded for the next year.
In the three years since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, unleashing a wave of state-level abortion bans, the fight over abortion rights has become one of the most important issues in US elections. Democrats’ unexpectedly strong showing in the 2022 midterms were largely attributed to outrage over Roe’s demise, while even voters in Republican strongholds repeatedly voted for ballot measures that protected access to the procedure.
