Caroleene Hardee Dobson Keeps Lying About Her Position on Abortion

Alabama has long been an anti-abortion state where voters overwhelmingly enshrined the "rights of the unborn" in 2018, and where the state has had a near abortion ban in place since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

But in newly-drawn and majority Black 2nd congressional district - home to a rare competitive congressional race in Alabama - are the dynamics different than on the statewide level?

It's a question that, among other issues, looms over the race between Democratic candidate Shomari Figures and Republican Caroleene Dobson.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hammering Dobson for what they say is an "extremist" position on the issue.

In a mass email last month, the DCCC charged that Dobson - if elected - would "use Alabama's draconian abortion restrictions as a model for the nation," that includes banning the procedure "even in cases of rape or incest" and for "jailing doctors for up to 99 years for performing abortions."

Candidate positions

The Dobson campaign countered last week by claiming that the DCCC is circulating an article written by the American Journal News. A spokesperson for the Dobson campaign said the DCCC and Figures campaign are "completely fabricating" Dobson's position and relying on "partisan Democrat websites disguised as 'news blogs' as their 'sources.'"

"My position has always been that abortion is an issue better left for each state to decide, and exemptions should be put in place for cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother," Dobson said in a statement to AL.com. "The DCCC is proving that it will tell any lie, spread any falsehood, and distort any position in order to win this seat. The voters of the Second District deserve a representative who will shoot straight and tell them the truth, not one that hides behind the distortions of D.C. insiders."

Figures said that relying on a state like Alabama to decide the fate of abortion will erode women's reproductive healthcare.

"Every person should have the freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without the government or politicians telling them what to do," he said. "I am for protecting women's freedoms. Alabama Republicans are fighting to restrict women's access to reproductive healthcare - banning abortion without exception, even in the cases where a pregnancy results from a woman being brutally raped."

Figures also linked abortion rights and IVF together, saying the collective policymaking and decision-making by GOP officials is curbing healthcare access for women. Republican leaders have criticized Democrats for months for attempting to link the two issues together.

"Their obsession with controlling women has contributed to the closure of birthing facilities across the state, the lack of reproductive health practitioners in Alabama, and has even limited families' access to IVF," Figures said. "Contraception will undoubtedly be next (to be restricted)."

He added, "This November, women in the Second District will choose between basic freedoms for themselves and their families or turning their power over to extremists in Washington who want to govern their bodies. I stand with women to make their own healthcare decisions."

Republicans question issue

The 2nd district is an open contest after the U.S. Supreme Court last June ruled that an Alabama Republican-drawn map was in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was redrawn to give Black voters a better opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing, which turns out to be in the 2nd district. The new district - which stretches from Montgomery to Mobile and includes a host of rural and mostly Black counties in Southwest Alabama - has a Black voting age population of 49%.

The congressional district was a +12 advantage for Biden during the 2020 election. Alabama, as a state, was a +25.4 advantage for Trump.

Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both label the 2nd district as "likely Democrat," giving the advantage to Figures.

Strong Democratic polling

Democratic analysts believe abortion and reproductive rights are a strong issue even in ruby red Alabama which has become Ground Zero over the fate of in vitro fertilization.

Polling suggests they are right. A majority of Alabamians (55%) say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to a poll released in February by the Public Religion Research Institute. Only seven states, including neighboring Mississippi (49%) and Tennessee (49%), included a minority of residents who said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

Only 12% of Alabamians polled by PRRI said abortion should be illegal in all cases, and only 37% of Alabama residents supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"Anyone who believes abortion access is not an important issue in Alabama is living in a time warp before Roe v. Wade was overturned," said Democratic pollster Zac McCrary. "Certainly, voters in the 2nd district place a high priority on their pocketbook. But voters can walk and chew gum at the same time and be focused on multiple issues."

He added, "Fundamentally, any candidate who supports the current Alabama abortion law that denies access to abortion even to victims of rape and incest is deeply out of step with voters and should be expected to be held accountable for such an unpopular position in November."