Reproductive rights deliver Dems another election win

 The Big Story 

Democrats notched a win in the special election for an Alabama state House seat on Tuesday, spotlighting the influence of issues like abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 2024.

© Marilyn Lands via AP

Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands, a licensed professional counselor, made reproductive rights her campaign focus as she ran for the seat in the ruby-red state where a major ruling last month led to a pause on IVF treatment in the state.

Lands beat out Republican Teddy Powell, a Madison City Council member, and flipped Alabama state House District 10 to blue.

“Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama’s no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception,” Lands said in a statement. 

Alabama’s state Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos are entitled to the same protections as humans, prompting legislation to protect IVF providers in the state — and stoking new discussions about the “fetal personhood” push in other conservative states.

Lands’s win “demonstrates that voters aren’t going to sit idly by while MAGA Republicans lay the groundwork for a national abortion ban,” said the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in a statement.

Leaning into the charged issue of abortion has largely been a boon for Democrats since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, upending the constitutional right to abortion, nearly two years ago.

Democrats’ state house victory in the Yellowhammer State also comes as the Supreme Court weighs whether to limit access to mifepristone, a drug used during medication abortions, and amid heightened concerns about how the court — and GOP candidates running in 2024 — could further curb reproductive rights.

Read more about the Alabama special election race from The Hill’s Caroline Vakil.

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