Those in favor of abortion access notched several more victories in Tuesday’s elections.  Reproductive rights played a role in  wins for Democratic politicians in Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. In Ohio, voters enshrined the right to abortion access in the state’s constitution.

“It has become very hard for Republicans to distance themselves from these laws that are now on the books,” says Mary Ziegler, professor at U.C. Davis School of Law.

These results came as good news for Democrats after a week that showed Donald Trump leading President Biden in polling in key swing states. But Ziegler warns Democrats shouldn’t count on abortion driving turnout in the presidential race in the same way we have seen in state contests.

Unless, that is, they can connect the dots for voters on exactly what might change if Trump is re-elected. And those changes, she adds, could be dramatic.

Ziegler is one of the country’s leading experts on the law, history, and politics of reproduction in the United States. She joins Diane on On My Mind to discuss where the abortion debate goes from here and whether it will be a deciding factor in 2024.