Three years after the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the battle over abortion access has splintered into a new era of legal, legislative, and political fights, proving that the end of Roe was only the beginning of a broader policy war. This Washington Examiner series, Aftershocks of Dobbs, examines how activists, lawmakers, and courts are driving the next phase of that fight. Part 1 was on the pending legal battles. Part 2 looked at how Republicans and the Trump administration are working to reverse what they call the Biden-era weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against anti-abortion advocates. Part 3 is on the Republican Party’s approach to the politics of abortion.

Anti-abortion advocates are hopeful that Republicans will not run away from the politics of abortion during the 2026 midterm elections following the electoral upheaval in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade three years ago in June 2022. 

Primary season is on for the 2026 elections, and anti-abortion advocacy organizations are already active in battleground states. They hope that Republicans will be willing to espouse anti-abortion views more than they were during the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election, the first two major elections following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.