Since election night and through November 11, there have been roughly 90 stories on reproductive health issues with a majority focusing on abortion rights.  About 40 were on the ballot measures, 17 on religious voters, and 11 featuring the Catholic vote.  Ten were on likely executive orders. Six were on the demise of the conservative movement and its overemphasis on social issues. Coverage is continuing to unfold.

The first round of stories on the day after the election, November 5, centered on the state ballot measures and appeared in state-based media outlets in California, Colorado and South Dakota. These were big wins for the pro-choice coalitions, but the frame was losses for our opposition, rather than wins for pro-choice opponents.

By Thursday and Friday, November 6-7, national stories focused on ballot measures in all states on all key issues. Gannett News Service headline read:  Ballot losses stun abortion foes featuring South Dakota and Colorado and mentioning the 16 new abortion rights supporters elected to Congress.  Much of the overall ballot measure coverage, however, focused on the setbacks for Proposition 8, the so-called “anti-gay marriage” measure in California, with a brief mention of the wins on abortion rights included in those stories.

By the weekend, an editorial in The New York Times, on Sunday, November 9, Voting for Reproductive Freedom, weighed in with the lead: “Voters in three states did the right thing last week by defeating dangerous anti-abortion measures on their ballots.”  

As media began to look at how votes broke down by demographics, a number of outlets looked at religious preferences, highlighting Catholics voting for Obama on economic, not social issues. 

McClatchy-Tribune News Service distributed a long piece: Catholics Voted Their Pocketbooks, on November 8 that was echoed by mid-market media, for example in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on November 9, Economy Won out Voters of Faith.

Major national media coverage has also started to reflect the Republican Party’s internal debate, “in particular, over how much to emphasize social issues like opposition to abortion rights….,” reported The New York Times, November 11.

Issues related to reproductive health also were linked to news accounts about likely executive orders President-elect Obama is expected to sign to reverse Bush administration policies. On Sunday, November 9, the Washington Post did an overview of the possible executive orders and other rules changes. AP did a similar piece on Monday, November 10 based on Sunday talk show interviews. In media interviews by the next White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Transition Team Head John Podesta, neither is quoted as mentioning the “global gag rule.” The two spoke almost exclusively about SCHIP, stem cell research, and economic recovery. However, reporters have been inserting the abortion-related executive orders based on earlier Presidential actions by Presidents Clinton and Bush.

Today, November 11, the upcoming U.S. Bishops meeting in Baltimore was reported by CNN with an emphasis on the bishops being “out of synch” with the national electorate post November 4 on abortion and stem cell.

Also today, Stephanie Simon, writing for The Wall Street Journal, November 11 in a piece titled Abortion Foes’ Dilemma: Confront or Cooperate? stated: “After making significant gains during the Bush administration, the anti-abortion movement was dealt sharp setbacks in last week’s election with the defeat of  three state ballot measures restricting  abortion.”

Thus far, there has been a handful of major features about the big picture wins on reproductive health that frame stories around voters attitudes on abortion, the ballot measure wins, and shifts in Congress.  US News and World Report did a blog, 7 Things Obama’s Win Could Mean for Women’s Health. A story that could be easily amplified to other media outlets.

There have been a series of op-eds on religious voters, both pro and con.  Thus, a huge opening for our story could be on the op-ed pages by the pro-choice community based on the various victories during this election.