COLUMBIA, S.C. — Although Democratic presidential candidates committed themselves to abortion rights at a Planned Parenthood forum held here Saturday, they avoided any suggestion that the issue is a personal one for them.
Amid the praise for Planned Parenthood and the endorsements for having the federal government pay for abortions expressed during the “We Decide” forum, not one of the 20 candidates who appeared on stage shared a personal story about abortion.
To be sure, it’s not clear that anyone running — or their spouses or former partners — has had an abortion, and no presidential candidate in the past has admitted to a personal history with abortion. Furthermore, some men running might view it as a privacy violation to speak about an abortion had by former partner or current spouse.
But it’s also possible that acknowledging having obtained an abortion is a line that Democratic candidates won’t cross.
The lack of personal disclosure about the issue was notable considering the push by abortion rights activists in recent months to speak more openly about abortion and to discuss it via social media threads such as #youknowme and #shoutyourabortion. It is also noteworthy given the number of Democratic candidates — 23, including a record number of women — and the variety of their life experiences.
That none of the candidates discussed a personal story about abortion stood out because more than a dozen people in the audience on Saturday shared their stories of having abortions: Of birth control that hadn’t worked, of being raped, of not having the financial means to raise a child, and of being unable to sever abusive relationships. Some women cried while speaking, but none expressed regret about their abortions, only about the difficulties they had in getting access the procedure, or concerns that it might not be available to others.
Abortion rights groups have said that sharing stories about abortion melts away the stigma of the procedure, which about a quarter of U.S. women have had.
None such stories came from anyone seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Candidates did not tell any of the women who came forward whether they understood what they had gone through, whether they had personally faced a pregnancy scare, whether they had ever considered an abortion personally or with a partner, or whether they had a close friend or family member confide their experiences with abortions to them.
It is rare for politicians to disclose having abortions. This month, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote an op-ed in which she revealed that she had an abortion when she learned her pregnancy would be high-risk and that she would otherwise likely give birth to a baby that would suffer. The only other member of Congress to say she had an abortion was Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., in 2011.
At the Planned Parenthood forum, candidates instead focused on how they would protect access to abortion.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said she would have the Department of Justice review state restrictions on abortion to make sure they meet the requirements of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said his government healthcare program would pay for abortions. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., vowed to nominate justices who accept the Roe decision as settled law.
Harris did discuss her own life at one point during her panel, sharing a story about how her mother often faced discrimination because of her race. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she had a difficult pregnancy that would have required a longer hospital stay, which led her to advocate for new moms and newborns to be allowed a 48-hour hospital stay in Minnesota.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, used to be opposed to abortion when he came to Congress, but said that speaking to women about abortion had made him change his mind about the issue.
“The most powerful thing we can do … is to continue to tell the story because you cut through all of the bullshit,” he said. “It becomes a story about a mom, a woman who has to make a decision, and should the government be involved in that?”
During most of the event, the candidates vowed to retain and expand abortion rights, committing to legal abortion at a time when a growing number of states are passing abortion bans. They warned the Trump administration posed a threat to abortion access, while steering clear of the topic of later abortions that has caused backlash against abortion rights proponents. The conversation also avoided discussion of polling that shows the public has mixed views on the issue.
The Democratic Party has increasingly embraced abortion rights. In 2016, the Democratic National Committee dropped a reference to ensuring that abortion is “rare” from its platform, saying only that abortion should be “safe and legal.” All 20 of the candidates who appeared at the event Saturday said they supported repealing the Hyde Amendment, a funding rider that bans federal dollars from paying for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or to save a pregnant woman’s life.
Also as recently as the 2016 election, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate with a record of supporting abortion rights but personally disapproving of abortion.
But such a juxtaposition didn’t emerge during Planned Parenthood’s event on Saturday. If candidates had any personal misgivings about abortion, they were not on display here, even though some of the candidates have mixed records on the issue.
Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate consider personal stories to be a key component of winning support. Just ahead of the Planned Parenthood forum, during an anti-abortion protest outside, Michelle Shearin, one of the speakers who is now a mother, said she regretted having two abortions, and encouraged advocates who had gathered to reach out to women with understanding and forgiveness.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., acknowledged during the Planned Parenthood event that he saw the power that storytelling could have when he attended a recent Capitol Hill hearing on birth control access.
“They were more powerful than any senator could have testified to: People telling why contraceptive care or abortion care is healthcare, and the difference it makes for families and individuals,” the 2020 candidate said. “I’m grateful to all the women speaking today.”
Ryan encouraged people to keep telling their stories.
“These are very powerful stories that move you,” he said. “So let’s keep telling them so we can move the electorate along with us.”
