As medical perils from abortion bans grow, so do opportunities for Democrats in a post-Roe world

WASHINGTON (AP) — For much of her life, Angela Crawford considered herself a fairly conservative Republican — and she voted that way. But then a wave of court rulings and Republican-led actions in states restricted abortion and later in vitro fertilization, the very procedure that had helped her conceive her daughter.

Now, Crawford, 38, is working to gather signatures in her home state of Missouri for a ballot initiative in the fall that would enshrine access to abortion and other reproductive health care. And she’s voting for Democrats.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, Republicans insisted the ruling would mostly affect those seeking abortions to end unwanted pregnancies. But that hasn’t been the case.

Women who never intended to end their pregnancies have nearly died because they could not get emergency treatment. Miscarriage care has been delayed. Routine reproductive medical care is drying up in states with strict bans. Fertility treatments were temporarily paused in Alabama. As the fallout grows, so does the opportunity for Democrats.

“I wish everyone would realize how big this topic is,” Crawford said of reproductive rights. “People really minimized it initially, because they didn’t realize the scope.”

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