Not just a women's issue: More men speaking out, and voting on, abortion in 2024

Dylan Melton, 31, has been working with fellow progressives in North Carolina for almost a year to engage and turn out votes for Democrats up and down the 2024 ballot.

But before he came to work in advocacy, Melton was a chaplain for hospitals around the Raleigh area.

“There was one case in particular,” Melton recalled, “where I sat with somebody who had been told that they were going to have to terminate their pregnancy.”

The patient in that case, Melton said, was warned that continuing the pregnancy put them at risk of dying long before the baby would be able to survive outside the womb.

“The difficulty and complexity that that patient and their family went through in making that decision – I don’t think there will ever be a moment where I can hear somebody out when they say this should be someone’s decision who is not already in that room,” Melton said.

Last November, Melton, of Casar, North Carolina, about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte, left chaplaincy to work for Megaphone North Carolina, a liberal-leaning campaign aimed at reaching new and progressive voters. Today, he is part of the team meeting people where they are at, whether that’s via social media or on college campuses.

Many of the men he meets along the way are also talking about abortion in this election.

“For the first time in my personal experience, I'm seeing a lot of guys, especially younger guys on campuses that I'm visiting, talk about this as a like matter of safety,” Melton said. “This isn't something that is going to directly impact me, just at a physical standpoint, but it is going to affect every woman I know.”

Reproductive rights have been a powerful motivator – and an electoral weapon for Democrats – since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 , ending a decades-long constitutional right to abortion. The issue has clearly resonated among groups of incensed women, including some disaffected Republicans .

But in the first post-Roe presidential election, abortion may be on the minds of men like never before, and Democrats in particular are looking to make in-roads with these voters.

'The decision is not ours, but the battle is'

Many of these men are clear: They do not see this as an issue for women alone.

“We're fathers, we're sons, we're brothers, and these issues affect us in a lot more ways than I think we're honest about,” said Nevon Watson, the father of a 16-year-old daughter and campaign manager for Empower 25, a movement by the nonprofit Black Women for Wellness aimed at registering 25,000 Black male voters by 2025.

Men today care about abortion accessibility for a variety of reasons, said David Cohen, a professor at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Some are directly involved in the pregnancy and ensuing decision, while many others personally know someone who has had or may have an abortion. There is also a broader concern for what Cohen called a "human rights violation."

“There are lots of people who just, as a principle matter, think that it’s a problem when the government doesn’t allow people to control their reproduction and control their bodies,” said Cohen.

Similar to the overall electorate, while a greater number of men have come out in public support of abortion rights in recent years, there is a portion still firm in their opposition. Data published by the Pew Research Center in May found that 38% of men think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, compared to 33% of women who share similar beliefs.

Men like Mark Lee Dickson and Jonathan Mitchell have become infamous among abortion opponents and advocates alike for their efforts to implement restrictions across the country. Dickson, an east Texas pastor, and Mitchell, a conservative lawyer and former Solicitor General of Texas, spearheaded the "sanctuary cities for the unborn" movement, a wave of local ordinances outlawing abortion at the city or county level.

Edwin Fortner, 59, a small business owner in Burnsville, North Carolina, said he will be voting red this November in part for candidates who, like him, oppose abortion. "That's my values as a Christian," Fortner said.

The post-Roe shift

Jason Smolka, who like Watson spent a day on Capitol Hill last month lobbying lawmakers for pro-abortion access bills, is national chairman of Sigma Lambda Beta, a historically Latino fraternity with a presence in most states. Smolka said he focuses on fostering conversations about gender equity and reproductive health care.

“What we're finding is our men are very comfortable saying, ‘It's not my choice, the decision is yours. It's a personal decision, so I'm not going to tell you what to do’... The decision is not ours, but the battle is," Smolka said.

It’s a battle that has become more salient since the Supreme Court’s watershed decision two years ago.

“I think everyone's more outspoken now than they were before Dobbs,” Cohen said, referring to the case that eliminated the federal guarantee of a right to an abortion. “Yes, you do have men who are talking about abortion who didn't before, but you have a lot of people talking about abortion who didn't before."

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris is not only talking about abortion; she’s campaigning on it.  And her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, has reiterated her message, becoming a passionate abortion rights advocate on the campaign trail.

The issue also took center stage at the Democratic National Convention in August, where Harris was officially made the party’s presidential nominee.

Amanda Zurawski was one of a handful of convention speakers to share her personal story, after being denied an abortion for a fetus with fatal complications and facing a life-threatening medical emergency. Standing next to her on stage, speaking on the importance of abortion access, was her husband Josh Zurawski.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., told USA TODAY that support for reproductive rights has existed among men for decades. However, the fall of Roe has led to a number of men being more outspoken.

“It is something that impacts so many people that men now are like, ‘Hey, if it's a fight for protecting not only my spouse but my daughter, I'm in that fight,’” said Gomez, chair of the Congressional Dads Caucus. "It is a personal, personal thing.”

A gender gapped election

Democrats, including Harris, hope abortion will bring more men, particularly those in key swing states, to their corner this November. The party has been on a win streak since the 2022 midterm elections, held months after Roe fell, with candidates touting reproductive rights and constitutional amendments enshrining abortion access.

The GOP has in turn grappled with their response, and almost no Republican has faced more scrutiny than former President Donald Trump in his bid for a second White House term. Trump has equivocated on his position, saying he would veto a national ban, after signaling support for a 15-week federal limit.

Reports: Melania Trump defends abortion rights in her upcoming memoir

Meanwhile, his efforts to expand support among male voters , particularly those who are undecided and younger than 50, come as Harris holds an advantage among female voters.

In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll last month, women favored Harris 57% to 36%. Men were almost the exact opposite, with 51% over 38% saying they preferred Trump.

Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have made a point to focus on other issues besides abortion that are top of mind for voters, including the cost of living.

Another USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll in July, before Harris’ entrance to the race, found economic concerns greatly outpaced abortion, especially for men.

Nine percent of voters surveyed said abortion was the most important issue for their vote, compared to 35% who said inflation and the economy. The gap widened among men, 4% of whom said abortion was most important, while 41% picked the economy.

Democrats have pushed back by trying to connect the two issues.

“I think they go together,” Gomez said. “If you can't control your own body, and you're forced to carry a pregnancy from beginning to end, and when you might not be in a position to care for that child ... you can make people worse off.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Not just a women's issue: More men speaking out, and voting on, abortion in 2024