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This is the paradox of the first presidential election after the Dobbs decision: Record numbers of people say they support abortion rights, and pro-choice candidates and statewide amendments have raked in huge sums of money. But because of a lack of investment in the actual infrastructure of abortion care over decades, the electoral victories we may be on the verge of celebrating won’t prevent clinics from closing their doors. And the closures could come at a time when state bans are pushing abortion-seekers ever later into pregnancy and limiting care for people who get devastating fetal diagnoses. (Rinkunas, 11/5)

In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency on an anti-abortion message, promising to appoint “pro-life” judges to the Supreme Court. In 2022, three of his nominees fulfilled that promise, voting to overturn Roe v. Wade and ending the constitutional right to an abortion. But 28 months after that decision changed the landscape of reproductive rights in the U.S., Trump’s campaign strategy has largely avoided direct engagement with the abortion issue. It’s a calculated risk: Trump is betting on the idea that voters, particularly women, will prioritize issues like crime and economic stability over abortion. (Popli, 11/4)

Tucker Carlson, a top surrogate for former President Donald J. Trump who spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer and made racist claims at a Trump rally last week at Madison Square Garden, said on Monday that the increased occurrence of hurricanes in the United States was a consequence of abortion — which he characterized as “human sacrifice.” Appearing on a podcast hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, a right-wing political strategist and Trump ally who was just released from prison, Mr. Carlson repeatedly portrayed abortion — a medical procedure — as a kind of religious human sacrifice. He dismissed scientific research that links global warming to the increased potency and frequency of hurricanes, saying instead that “it’s probably abortion, actually.” (Cameron, 11/4)

West Virginians on Tuesday will choose between a Republican candidate for governor endorsed by former President Donald Trump who has defended abortion restrictions in court and a Democratic mayor who has fought to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide. Both Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams have played an outsized role in fighting the drug crisis in the state with the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the country. But their similarities are few. When it comes to abortion, the two couldn’t be more different. (Willingham, 11/5)

Two justices who split on whether Arkansas voters should have the chance to scale back the state's abortion ban are both vying to lead the state Supreme Court, though the election won’t affect the court’s conservative tilt. Justices Rhonda Wood and Karen Baker are running to replace Chief Justice Dan Kemp in Tuesday’s election, where the state’s four congressmen are fending off challenges from Democratic candidates. (Demillo, 11/5)

The newly reported deaths of two pregnant Texans sparked a renewed plea from Texas OB/GYNs, including dozens in the Houston-area, for lawmakers to change the state's abortion laws. More than 60 Houston-area OB/GYNs were among 111 of their colleagues across the state who signed a letter saying that the "heartbreaking" deaths of the two women — Josseli Barnica, of Houston, and Nevaeh Crain, of Vidor — "will continue to echo throughout our state and our nation." (Gill and MacDonald, 11/4)