Republicans can’t message their way out of their Dobbs problem
By 
As their substantively horrible and abortion policies continue to inflict political damage, Republicans have turned to the logic of political losers since time immemorial — the problem isn’t that people hate what they’ve doing, the problem is MESSAGING:
If you’ve managed to make the label “pro-life” toxic, maybe the problem is not your terminology. https://t.co/FrrFAZbtqQ— Julian Sanchez (@normative) September 8, 2023
Might I suggest “pro-coercing-12-year-old-rape-victims-into-giving-birth-while-doing-nothing-to-help-them-ex-ante-or-ex-post”?
It’s grimly amusing for Republicans to talk about abortion like it’s one of their symbolic rube-running issues. One in five women gets an abortion! People are going to notice when access to this common and important medical procedure is taken away! The problem isn’t the slogan you’re using, it’s that most people think your policy preferences are barbaric.
Another thing people will notice is when they can’t find a doctor when undergoing the many health challenges and risks of pregnancy:
The New York Times, for example, reported that more than half of Oklahoma’s counties are considered maternity care deserts—and that 75% of the state’s OBGYNs are either planning or considering leaving the state. And in Idaho—where we’ve been covering the OBGYN exodus for months—rural hospitals have been unable to withstand the strain and “legal and political climate”, thus shuttering their maternity and delivery wards. The Times also points out something we reported back in April: that the state disbanded their Maternal Mortality Review committee. It cost basically nothing—$15,000 that the federal government paid for—yet conservatives called it an “unnecessary waste of tax dollars.”
Highly skilled doctors (including those who specialize in handling complex and high-risk pregnancies) are leaving their practices across the country in states like Idaho, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee—like Dr. Rachel Rapkin, who tells the Tampa Bay Times that she is leaving Florida to open a training program in New Zealand amid fears of prosecution.
This isn’t like CARAVANS and EMAILS where you can just move on to the shiny new snipe hunt. Republicans abortion policies produce real and bad material effects on many people, and different marketing isn’t going to make people like what’s happening any more.