Democratic groups launch $2.5M ad buy attacking Republicans over reproductive access

Two Democratic groups are launching a $2.5 million ad campaign that aims to put Republicans on the spot over reproductive access as the 2024 election comes down to the wire.

Progress Action Fund and Defend the Vote are coordinating the multimillion-dollar ad campaign, which will showcase two ads depicting scenarios where a Republican lawmaker stops couples from having access to abortion or the Plan B pill, according to plans first shared with The Hill.

In one ad, a couple is shown having sex when the condom suddenly breaks. The man goes to the bathroom to get the Plan B pill, when the GOP lawmaker surprises him and tells him he can’t use Plan B because they’ve banned it.

“You can’t do this. I can’t have a kid right now,” the man responds.

“I won the last election, so it’s my decision,” the lawmaker replies. “Now let’s get back in there, so we can give her the news, daddy.”

In the second ad, a woman is shown on the ground in pain while her partner is on the phone with a doctor, who tells him she needs an abortion or could die from the pregnancy. The ad next shows a Republican lawmaker taking the phone out of the partner’s hand, informing him Congress has banned abortion now that Republicans have the majority.

“You can’t do this. She’s dying,” the man replies to the congressman in the ad.

“I won the last election, so it’s my decision,” the lawmaker says. “But don’t worry, you can still have children. Just not with her.”

The ads are set to air in all seven battleground states through streaming services, online and on connected TVs.

“Despite numerous losses due to their extreme positions on reproductive rights, Republicans refuse to learn because they are beholden to their far-right base that wants a total ban on abortion,” said Progress Action Fund founder and executive director Joe Jacobson.

“Voters have made it crystal clear that they do not want deranged Republican politicians invading their personal lives, which is why Trump and his allies will lose yet again this November,” Jacobson added.

Democrats are looking to use abortion as both a motivating turnout issue for its base and a wedge issue among Republicans and independents. Several battleground states, like Arizona and Nevada, are also set to have measures come before voters this fall looking to enshrine abortion protections into their respective state Constitutions.

Former President Trump has said the issue has been returned to the states, where it belongs, and has also said he would veto a national abortion ban if elected president in an effort to blunt the issue. Republicans are also unlikely to have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass federal restrictions on abortion, particularly since there’s currently only 49 GOP senators.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, however, has created a patchwork of different laws around abortion, with some states further curbing access to the procedure while others have expanded or added protections in place.

However, Plan B, an emergency contraception used to prevent pregnancy, is accessible in every state across the country and does not require a prescription.

“This is what happens when MAGA-loving Republicans upend our democracy in service of their extreme agenda: They insert themselves into the most intimate decisions women and families will ever make,” said Brian Lemek, executive director of Defend The Vote. “It’s inappropriate, it’s offensive, and it’s none of their business — we have to stop them.”

At the same time, Vice President Harris has voiced support for changing the filibuster to protect abortion rights — something that faced opposition in the Senate from Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), though both are set to retire this year. It would also likely face a tough uphill climb in the upper chamber.