At the first post-Roe DNC, abortion stories are front and center

CNN —

In their first convention since the end of federal abortion protections, Democrats have woven reproductive health care access into every night of programming, highlighting an issue they hope will boost turnout for candidates in November.

“We’ve never had a convention like this, where it’s been reproductive freedom every single night,” Mini Timmaraju, the president of Reproductive Freedom for All and one of Wednesday’s speakers, told CNN.

Abortion access has been a key focus of past Democratic conventions, particularly in 2016, when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and abortion rights advocates warned that Donald Trump would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Related article These are the states where abortion rights will – or could – be on the ballot in November

Those warnings have come to fruition. Nearly two dozen states have enacted abortion limits since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe. But the aftermath of that ruling has led to a wave of political activity that has boosted Democrats, who had a better-than-expected showing in the midterm elections. This year, Democrats hope that enduring anger over bans, as well as abortion rights ballot initiatives in a handful of key battleground states, will help 2024 candidates.

Even before she became the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris made abortion rights a key part of her portfolio. In March, she became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic when she toured a Minnesota Planned Parenthood with her future running mate, Gov. Tim Walz.

Now, abortion rights groups have expanded their messaging to focus on the stories of women – as well as their families and health care