How Washington Republicans Should “Engage” on Abortion in 2024

How Washington Republicans Should “Engage” on Abortion in 2024

Reichert: “I happen to believe that life begins in the womb and at inception.”

After voters across the country rejected Republicans’ extreme attacks on reproductive freedom last year, the Republican Governors Association said it plans to “encourage GOP candidates to engage on this issue” in 2024.

All this week, the Democratic Governors Association is offering a preview of what it could look like if Republican gubernatorial candidates heed this advice and lean into their extreme and deeply unpopular efforts to restrict abortion in even the most dire circumstances.

Today, we’re heading west to Washington, where national Republicans are throwing their support behind ​​former congressman Dave Reichert.

Reichert’s path to following the RGA’s advice is simple: spend more time talking about his seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a reliable vote against reproductive freedom. During his last term in Congress, Reichert voted nearly nine times out of ten to deny women the right to make their own health care decisions. Throughout his career, he has voted repeatedlyfor a national abortion ban and to defund Planned Parenthood, as well as voting to allow pharmacists to deny women emergency contraception and employers to fire workers for seeking an abortion.

“As the RGA encourages candidates to engage on abortion, we eagerly await Congressman Reichert’s explanation for his votes to defund Planned Parenthood and pass a national abortion ban,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Izzi Levy. “Under a Democratic governor, Washington has established itself as one of the strongest defenders of reproductive freedom in the country, and Washingtonians are not interested in politicians with a proven record of rolling back their rights.”

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