2020 Candidates Are Going All In on Abortion Rights

Kirsten Gillibrand has made abortion the central issue of her presidential campaign. The senator from New York has consistently led the field of 2020 candidates on abortion policy, moving first and going the furthest to embrace an expansive vision of abortion rights. Her approach is a bellwether of where the Democratic Party is heading on this issue: Abortion is guaranteed to be a key topic in the 2020 election, especially following major policy battles at the state and federal levels. Gillibrand and other Democrats have warned that Donald Trump and the conservative-leaning justices he has appointed to the Supreme Court are working to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in 1973. Because of this, they argue, now is the time for Democrats to take a definitive stance, rather than try to compromise or telegraph discomfort over the issue.

Democrats are in the midst of an identity crisis, with leaders fighting over who should be welcome in the party and which policies will most appeal to Trump-traumatized voters. Gillibrand and other 2020 contenders, such as Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Senator Kamala Harris of in place,” Harris recently said in an interview on MSNBC. “On this issue, I’m kind of done.”