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MEMO: Democratic Pro-Choice Women Are Best Weapon in Fight for Reproductive Freedom

January 22, 2025

To: Interested Parties
From: EMILYs List
Date: January 22, 2024
Re: On Roe Anniversary, Democratic Pro-Choice Women Are Best Weapon in Fight for Reproductive Freedom

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned nearly 50 years of precedent from Roe v. Wade. This decision dismantled the constitutional right to abortion that women held since 1973. Today we commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and recognize that since the Dobbs decision Democratic pro-choice women elected up and down the ballot have been on the frontlines protecting abortion access for people across the country. 

With a Republican-held White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House, and a conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court, the Democratic pro-choice women at the state and local level are going to be imperative in the fight to protect our most fundamental freedoms. From mayors, state legislators, attorneys general, and governors, these pro-choice champions will be the key in this critical moment. 

This country is currently in a reproductive rights crisis, one caused by Donald Trump himself. Just this week, on the day of his inauguration, Trump’s administration immediately removed the government website reproductiverights.gov — a resource launched by HHS that provided information about reproductive health care and abortion care. While Trump falsely campaigned with a “hands-off abortion stance,” his record as the president who overturned Roe v. Wade and immediate actions to take down the reproductiverights.gov resource makes it clear that he will be using his position to chip away at our reproductive freedom. 

The impact of Democratic pro-choice women at every level of government who will fight to defend and restore our rights cannot be understated. Since the Dobbs decision, their work to protect reproductive freedom has been imperative, and it’s more important than ever to continue building this type of political power to protect our fundamental freedoms for years to come. 

GOVERNORS 

While Republicans are trying to decimate access to reproductive health care, governors are in a unique position to protect these rights in their states. Since they hold significant power over state-level policies, Democratic pro-choice women governors play a vital role in this critical moment. Whether it’s vetoing extreme legislation from Republican-held state legislatures, signing executive orders to protect fundamental freedoms, refusing to allow bans in the state budgets, or signing protections into law, these Democratic pro-choice women governors are essential for protecting access to abortion in a post-Roe America. While not exhaustive, examples of governors taking action to protect reproductive rights since the Dobbs decision include: 

  • Less than a year after Dobbs, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order to safeguard and expand reproductive care by protecting patients from extradition and out-of-state investigations. She created the Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom and gave the state attorney general sole prosecutorial authority in court cases relating to abortion. Last year, Gov. Hobbs also signed an executive order repealing the state’s 1864 abortion ban.
  • After the 2024 elections, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek directed the Oregon Health Authority to partner with OHSU to secure a three-year supply of Mifepristone. This effort was to ensure Oregonians had access to safe abortion services throughout Trump’s presidency. 
  • Following the Dobbs decision, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive, executive order, and another executive directive all before 2023, aimed at making Michigan a safe state for abortion care by protecting patients from extradition and out-of-state investigations. In 2023, she signed the Reproductive Health Act, a package of nine bills to protect abortion access, and also officially repealed Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban. 
  • New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued two executive orders during the months following the Dobbs decision. The orders protect patients from extradition and out-of-state investigations, and allocated $10 million toward a reproductive health clinic serviced to provide abortion care.
  • In 2023, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order to protect access to medication abortion in the state. Then, on the two-year anniversary of Dobbs, Gov. Healey signed an executive order protecting access to emergency abortion care. 
  • In 2024, Maine Gov. Mills signed into law a bill to protect providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought by other states.
  • After the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked Dobbs decision came out, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul immediately signed a six-bill package to protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state interference and further protect care in New York. 
  • In 2024, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly consistently fought to uphold the voices of the majority of Kansans, who voted to protect abortion rights in 2022. To do this, she vetoed extreme anti-choice legislation proposed by the state Legislature.

STATE LEGISLATURES 

For years, Republicans in state legislatures have been working to chip away at abortion access state by state and law by law. With Republicans holding the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, Democratic pro-choice women in state legislatures are more essential than ever. These pro-choice champions protect our communities and are our best weapon in the fight to protect reproductive freedom. 

Since the Dobbs decision, Democratic pro-choice women in our state legislatures have been working overtime to defend abortion rights. In 2022 alone, state lawmakers across the nation introduced 369 bills to protect access to abortion, and passed 77 of them across 18 states. In the months following Dobbs, nine state legislatures, including California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington, passed “shield laws,” protecting people from punitive legal action as a result of providing, receiving or facilitating abortion-related reproductive health care. Though not comprehensive, the following examples from state legislatures highlight significant actions from Democratic pro-choice women to protect these freedoms: 

  • Since the overturn of Roe, the Michigan state Legislature has passed numerous bills protecting access and expanding Michiganders’ rights to reproductive care. As part of the Reproductive Health Act, nine bills were signed into law by Gov. Whitmer; each championed by a Democratic pro-choice woman, specifically, Sens. Sarah Anthony and Erika Geiss, Reps. Kara Hope, Julie Rogers, and Laurie Pohutsky, and former Rep. Christine Morse. This was made possible because of Michigan’s Democratic trifecta, which EMILYs List helped secure in the 2022 midterms. 
  • In 2023, New Mexico state Reps. Charlotte Little and Kristina Ortez, and Majority Floor Leader Rep. Reena Szczepanski led efforts to pass the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Act. The bill prohibits public bodies from denying, restricting, or discriminating against someone’s right to reproductive health care or health care related to gender, and was signed into law by Gov. Lujan Grisham in March 2023.
  • In 2024, Arizona state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton and state Sen. Anna Hernandez successfully led efforts to repeal the state’s Civil-War era abortion ban by introducing legislation in their respective chambers.
  • In 2023, the Minnesota state House successfully led efforts to pass the Protect Reproductive Options Act, a bill championed by a Democratic pro-choice woman that would further establish in state law the fundamental right for an individual to make decisions on their own reproductive health. Four Democratic pro-choice women then sponsored a companion bill that passed in the Minnesota state Senate, and was signed into law in January 2023. 
  • In 2023, state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s Senate Bill 131, which enshrines legal protections for out-of-state abortion patients and in-state providers, was signed into law.
  • In January 2025, Virginia House Democrats, led by Majority Leader Charniele Herring, passed an amendment to enshrine reproductive freedom in the state Constitution. If this amendment passes in the Virginia state Senate, and then again in both chambers next year, it will go to voters. 
  • In 2024, California state Rep. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and former state Sen. Nancy Skinner’s bill to increase abortion care options for residents of Arizona was signed into law. The bill temporarily allows Arizona doctors to perform abortions in California, in response to the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that a near-total ban on abortion from 1864 is enforceable in the state.
  • In 2024, Delaware state Sen. and Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay, former state Sen. and U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, and state Sen. Stephanie Hansen sponsored a bill to expand insurance coverage for abortion. The bill was signed into law and took effect in January 2025.

STATE SUPREME COURTS 

For ages the Republicans’ anti-abortion playbook has focused on using the courts to sidestep the will of the people and ban abortion. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, reproductive freedom has been hanging in the balance, and state Supreme Courts are playing a vital role in protecting these rights. State Supreme Court justices are central to determining whether extreme abortion bans are constitutional or enforceable, so it is imperative we elect fair and impartial judges to these positions. By prioritizing electing pro-choice judges to the state Supreme Court, we can stop the ongoing anti-choice extremist attempts to use the courts to ban abortion.

  • With EMILYs List’s help, Justice Janet Protasiewicz was elected to Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court in 2023. This election shifted the court to a 4-3 liberal majority and will help safeguard millions of Wisconsinites’ access to abortion as the Court prepares to make a decision on the state’s abortion ban. 
  • In the 2024 election cycle, EMILYs List-endorsed Justices Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas won, upholding a liberal majority on the Michigan state Supreme Court. In the 2022 midterms, the majority of voters approved a proposition to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. These Supreme Court wins will help guarantee those comprehensive abortion protections in the state. 

ATTORNEYS GENERAL

With Roe overturned, our state officials serve as the final line of defense for our reproductive freedoms, and that includes the Office of Attorney General (AG). As the chief law enforcement officer for their state, the AG can decide whether to prosecute archaic, inhumane anti-abortion laws and can discourage district attorneys and law enforcement from enforcing them as well. This is why Democratic pro-choice women AGs are so integral in the fight to protect reproductive freedom. Since the Dobbs decision, AGs have stepped up to the plate and fought to protect our freedoms in numerous ways, including but not limited to: 

  • Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbellchairs the Reproductive Rights Working Group made up of Democratic attorneys general working to strengthen state-level protections for abortion, including expanding the use of shield laws.
    • Campbell said, “Attorneys general are on the front lines combating the incessant attacks on our reproductive health care.” 
  • Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes worked to secure a stay to delay the state’s Civil-war era total abortion ban from impacting Arizonans. Mayes also said she would not prosecute health care providers who might have been impacted under the law. 
  • Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings launched an abortion legal helpline to connect residents with free, confidential legal advice in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
  • New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office would prosecute a collection of New York-based anti-abortion centers because they advertised a false treatment purported to reverse medication abortions. 

MAYORS 

Mayors play a critical role in protecting reproductive rights at the local level. The Democratic pro-choice women at this level work to make their communities a better place by standing up to Republican extremism in the face of a relentless onslaught against our freedoms. The battle for reproductive freedom is playing out on a local level every single day, and there is so much that women in executive office can do to protect those seeking this essential health care. Since the Dobbs decision, Democratic pro-choice women mayors have stood up and fought for these freedoms. While there are numerous instances of actions, the following examples highlight some key moments: 

  • In preparation for the overturning of Roe, Tucson’s Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council unanimously passed a resolution to protect abortion providers from criminalization.
    • Mayor Romero said, “I am not going to sit and wait as our constitutional rights are stripped away. In the absence of Congressional action to enshrine Roe v. Wade into federal law, it is up to local governments to stand up to protect bodily autonomy and the rights of pregnant persons from repressive state laws.” 
  • A few weeks after Dobbs, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed legislation directing $1 million in federal funds to help people cover the logistical cost of accessing abortion.
  • After Dobbs, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reassured constituents that reproductive rights are protected in Massachusetts under the ROE Act, which she championed in 2020. The Roe Act ensures that anyone can access safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts.
  • Following Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stating she will not be directing the Tampa Police Department to arrest individuals who have had abortions, the Tampa City Council passed a resolution to “respect the privacy of people seeking abortions in the city.” 
  • After Dobbs, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reassured constituents, “We are a pro-choice city. Nothing has changed in Washington, D.C. Abortion remains legal.” In 2019, Mayor Bower signed the Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act, which “prohibits government interference in reproductive health decisions.”

ELECT MORE DEMOCRATIC PRO-CHOICE WOMEN

As we enter into a new era of politics, Democratic pro-choice women at all levels of the ballot will continue to be the leaders we need to protect our fundamental freedoms. Looking at history, women are consistently involved in the fight for progress in this country. But because of the work of EMILYs List over the past 40 years, women at all levels of government are now at the center, leading the most critical fights ahead of us.

Democratic pro-choice women will be the frontline fighters against Trump and the Republican Party’s extremist policies that will cause significant harm to millions of people across the country. As we look forward, we must build back our political power by electing Democratic pro-choice women champions who will take on the fight of our generation and restore the rights that have been taken away.