Emhoff urges men to join abortion rights fight: ‘Women are dying’

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff urged more men to advocate for abortion rights on Tuesday, saying the key 2024 election issue is about more than just women, but families and all Americans.

“This is an issue of fairness to women. Women are dying,” Emhoff told NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor. “It’s affecting [men’s] ability to plan their lives. And it’s also an issue of what’s next, what other freedoms are at risk. And these freedoms are affecting all Americans, not just women.”

Emhoff was in Atlanta on Tuesday to speak at a panel for abortion rights group Men4Choice, as the Biden campaign targets abortion as its strongest argument to get swing voters on its side this November.

He told NBC that the key to making the issue stick is with men and that many don’t realize how central the reproductive rights debate is to them.

“I’m talking about this with my other dad friends,” Emhoff said. “I’m talking about it with my son. And it’s not just because I also have a daughter. I have a son and we talk about it, about how this is going to impact him and how he’s going to start a family or not.”

He also warned that after the Supreme Court rolled back federal abortion protections in 2022, the conservative-dominated court could move on to further reproductive care.

“What are we coming after next?” he asked. “So, is it contraception? Is it [the] right to marry who you want to marry, love who you want to love? Read what you want to read?”

The Biden campaign hopes abortion rights can be a boon in swing states where there will also be a statewide ballot measure up for a vote, like in Florida and Arizona. The Sunshine State has been a surprising target for Democrats in 2024 after the state implemented a strict abortion ban this month.