People line up to vote at Cumberland Trace Elementary School in Bowling Green, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. A representative for Democrats Abroad says concerns over the right to abortion was a motivating factor for those living outside the United States to vote in the country's midterm elections. THE CANADIAN PRESS /AP/Michael Clubb
OTTAWA – A representative for Democrats Abroad says concern over the right to abortion was a motivating factor for those living outside the United States to vote in the country’s midterm elections.
Dianna English, who leads the Toronto chapter of the organization, says many people she spoke to were in “disbelief” that outlawing access to abortion was put back on the table this year.
The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion as a countrywide right, has led to near-complete bans on the procedure in a dozen states.
Democrats have seized on the issue, as did abortion rights advocates who are celebrating victories in the battleground state of Michigan, which voted to enshrine it into the constitution, as they did in California as well as Vermont, another border state.
A victory was also celebrated in Kentucky where voters were asked to deny the protection of abortion as a right and the measure was defeated.
John Richardson, a member of Republicans Overseas living in Toronto, says he disagrees with the politicization of abortion and saw many efforts to galvanize Democrats living outside the U.S. hinged on the topic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2022.
– With files from The Associated Press.
