If Eric Murphy is defeated in his June 9 primary, he thinks he already understands at least one reason. Last year, the North Dakota Republican state representative tried to broaden the timeframe during pregnancy when women could obtain an abortion. The state legislature had prohibited it for nearly all people starting at conception. The ban was caught up in litigation and had not yet taken effect. Murphy sought to secure a less restrictive law that would permit abortions up to 24 weeks—and even later if a woman’s doctor determined it was medically necessary. To persuade his colleagues, he read aloud from two ProPublica articles detailing how women in Texas had died after being denied lifesaving care. “Physicians felt they had to obey the law,” he said during the hearing, “and both women lost their lives just so this ridiculous law could be upheld.” A conservative colleague had cautioned him against introducing the bill, Murphy told ProPublica, remembering the man’s words: “I can no longer shield you from those who will target you.” There was some validity to that view. ProPublica discovered that at least four Republican state legislators who opposed strict abortion bans lost backing from anti-abortion organizations and prominent party supporters, ultimately losing their primary elections. The pattern in those contests was strikingly consistent. Opponents either supported more restrictive abortion measures or sidestepped the topic entirely. Anti-abortion groups mobilized against sitting legislators, party leaders withdrew their backing in favor of challengers, and activists focused on boosting turnout in low-turnout primaries. In several contests reviewed by ProPublica, the newly elected lawmakers who ousted abortion-ban reformers later backed even harsher restrictions on abortion.
