For decades, Democratic presidential candidates have garnered more support from women than Republicans. They’ve done so partly by posing as defenders of abortion rights.
In 2020, Joe Biden promised “to pass legislation to make Roe the law of the land.” He failed to deliver, and Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. In the midterms that year, Democrats benefited from increased turnout among women and young voters fired up by the abortion issue.
While Biden was still in the race, 70% of women voters report feeling “frustrated” by the upcoming election, and a majority say they’re “not satisfied” with the options on the ballot.
Kamala Harris, Biden’s sidekick-turned-successor, is once again relying on empty promises and lesser-evilist appeals, saying: “[Republicans] plan to restrict access to contraception and ban abortion nationwide. We will stop them.” Whether such rhetoric will fool enough working-class women to push her into the presidency remains to be seen.
The Hyde Amendment
In reality, the Democrats have consistently worked with Republicans to strip abortion rights from poor, working-class women who rely on government-funded healthcare.
In 1976, the Democrats—who had a supermajority in both House and Senate—passed the Hyde Amendment. This prevents any federal funding for abortions, including any hospital funding and state-funded health coverage. Democratic Senator Joe Biden notably voted against making exceptions in the Hyde Amendment for cases of rape and incest.
In 1993, Democrat Bill Clinton included the Hyde Amendment in his federal budget, despite the Democrats having House and Senate majorities.
In 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and 206 Democrats once again voted in favor of a budget that included the Hyde Amendment.
Democratic Senator Joe Biden notably voted against making exceptions in the Hyde Amendment for cases of rape and incest. / Image: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons
Harris’s “straight talking”
Harris was interviewed by a CBS correspondent, Robert Costa, shortly after the court struck down Roe v. Wade. Eager to seize the opportunity to present the Democrats as the “only hope” for defending abortion rights in the lead up to the 2022 midterms, Harris delivered her moral sermon about women’s sacred right to choose.
Costa mentioned the basic fact that, in 50 years, the Democrats had never even attempted to pass federal legislation guaranteeing the right to abortion instead of letting this right hang precariously on a court ruling. He asked Harris what she had to say about the record of the Democratic Party on this issue, and the Vice President served up one of her famous word salads:
Costa: When you look back, did Democrats fail—past Democratic presidents, congressional leaders—to not codify Roe v. Wade over the past five decades?
Harris: I think that—to be very honest with you—I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled. Certain issues are just settled.
Costa: Clearly we’re not.
Harris: No, that’s right. And that’s why I do believe that we are living—sadly—in real unsettled times.
The Democrats cynically hold the threat to abortion rights over women, so that people vote for them and against the Republicans. But after decades of this, millions can see through it.
Frustrated and unsatisfied
It’s no mystery why so many women are frustrated by and dissatisfied with the capitalist parties. As a 26-year-old Hispanic woman explained, “There has been more inflation since President Trump. Women’s reproductive rights continue to be under attack. Undocumented immigrants still don’t have a path to citizenship, and I don’t support the use of our American dollars to fund genocide in Gaza.”
Polls show a majority of women say their vote won’t be determined by abortion; it will be determined by inflation. When the cost of traveling to a clinic can easily exceed $2,000, abortion is an out-of-reach luxury for most working-class women. So the main question comes down to bread.
Women have not stopped caring about abortion rights, but they recognize that on this issue, as with everything else, there is no difference between the two capitalist parties. Both have proved intractable enemies of working women—not just in the US, but internationally. The fight for abortion rights is a fight against capitalism, and both parties were built to defend that system.
There is a political vacuum where there should be a workers’ party fighting for free, quality reproductive healthcare. Similarly, neither capitalist party stands for an end to the violence against women at the border or in Gaza. Neither is fighting for a higher minimum wage linked to inflation. The Revolutionary Communists of America aims to organize all those ready to build a party which will unite the whole working class around a revolutionary program that can satisfy working-class women.