When it comes to abortion rights, you should be scared 

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Voters would be wise to consider Maya Angelou’s famous quote as the 2024 election kicks into high gear and Donald Trump and Republicans try to posture on the issue of abortion.

Abortion is coming front and center in this election, and the anti-abortion movement is doing all it can to downplay the horrors of abortion bans and mischaracterize what the Republican Party has done and will do to restrict abortion. 

This tactic in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal isn’t surprising. In a country that resoundingly favors legal access to abortion, and facing an unapologetic champion of reproductive freedom in Vice President Kamala Harris, their political power has become so diluted that they have few messaging options left.

Anti-abortion activists and many Republican politicians have been attempting to sugarcoat the GOP’s record on abortion, because they know America is a pro-choice country. In fact, three in five Americans believe the overturning of Roe v. Wade was bad for the country, and 66 percent oppose a nationwide abortion ban. In battleground states, a majority of voters say they are concerned about Republicans’ policies on abortion.

Their concern is well-founded. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, 21 states have passed abortion bans or restrictions earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe. That means more than one in three individuals of reproductive age now don’t have the freedom to make their own health care decisions.

We are hearing more and more horrific stories like that of Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN in Texas and mother of three who had to travel to another state to terminate her pregnancy after discovering the fetus had a fatal condition with no chance of survival. Anya Cook, a Florida woman, delivered her stillborn at 16 weeks at home after discovering that she had experienced a pre-labor rupture of the membranes. She was given antibiotics and sent home to wait because she could not receive abortion care under the state’s abortion law. Throughout the course of the day after the birth, she lost nearly half her blood and almost died.

That the anti-abortion movement is leaning desperately into a “pro-mothers” message is rich. The hypocrisy is on special display when you look at the fact that mothers in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die. 

Trump, the GOP, and the anti-abortion movement will try to water down and deflect all they want when they know they are in the political spotlight. But make no mistake, they are proud to have overturned Roe, and they will go further. They have already said so.

Trump has said he’s “proud” to have been the one to overturn Roe, referring to the Dobbs decision as “a miracle.” Nikki Haley, who is attempting to cast herself as a moderate alternative to Trump, has said she would sign a six-week abortion ban into law. Republican leadership, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), previously opposed the Right to Contraception Act.

As we look toward 2025, the anti-abortion movement, emboldened by the GOP, is drafting plans to use every possible avenue to limit our freedoms, from federal legislation, to statewide bans, to executive orders.  

Voters should understand what’s at stake in the 2024 election. Put simply, freedom is on the ballot this year. While the anti-abortion movement will try to deflect, we must be clear-eyed about the two versions of America that are on the ballot. The Biden-Harris ticket is one that represents the freedom to make our own decisions about our own bodies and futures. A Republican ticket — with Trump all but certainly at its helm — represents a draconian agenda in which politicians, not individuals, have the power to decide.

The Biden campaign, with Harris leading the way, is rightly sounding the alarm on what could happen to abortion rights under another Trump presidency. Already several stops into her Fight for Reproductive Freedoms Tour, they are signaling to American voters that they plan to put abortion rights front-and-center. They are not holding back in calling out the Republican politicians responsible for ripping away millions of people’s fundamental freedoms. 

Before Dobbs, critics called us hysterical when we were sounding the alarm. And let’s not forget, Trump promised in 2016 that he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. A few short years later, our daughters today now have fewer rights than their mothers did. 

We can’t be fooled by the anti-abortion movement’s softened language, finger-pointing, and downplaying of the reality of a post-Roe America. Republicans have shown us who they are. They have signaled that they won’t stop at Roe if they’re in power. We need to believe them and vote accordingly.  

Jessica Mackler is interim president of EMILYs List, a political action committee dedicated to electing Democratic pro-choice women.