Advocates are cautiously optimistic about the DNC platform

In a highly anticipated move ahead of the 2024 elections, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has officially unveiled its platform, outlining its vision for the future of the U.S. after a tumultuous summer.

Reactions from reproductive rights advocates highlight both optimism and skepticism about the party’s commitment to expanding abortion access. Amid increasing concern over reproductive rights, particularly after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, stakeholders are scrutinizing how the DNC plans to transform its platform into actionable policy.

Nourbese Flint, president of All* In Action Fund, praised the Biden-Harris administration for its initial strides, including a budget aimed at enhancing abortion access. However, Flint was cautiously optimistic, emphasizing the need for concrete policy implementation.

“They were the first to deliver a clean budget without concealed provisions,” Flint said. “That has been monumental in terms of abortion access. Yet, in the aftermath of Dobbs, there is an opportunity for us to rebuild abortion access in a way that is affordable, available, and inclusive for [marginalized folks] that have been left out of Roe.”

But the DNC’s platform, while promising, lacks detailed implementation strategies.

The platform’s mention of abortion is a good start, but the real challenge lies in translating those promises into effective policy, Flint said. “What does it mean to address barriers to care, barriers to reproductive rights, and how they are going to get coverage with repealing [restrictive policies like the Hyde Amendment and the domestic gag rule]?”

The DNC platform outlines ambitious goals, including repealing the Hyde Amendment and Title X restrictions. However, Flint stressed that the platform’s success hinges on legislative action and effective policy implementation at both federal and state levels.

It’s crucial to not only address these issues in the platform but also to ensure that we have a “bolder version of policy” for enacting these changes, they said.

As the 2024 election approaches, advocates emphasize the importance of an inclusive and detailed platform for reproductive rights.

“What we see now is the incredible impact elections have on folks’ lives when it comes to reproductive health, rights, and justice,” Flint said. The current Supreme Court’s decisions have underscored the link between abortion access and broader issues such as economic security, care access, and democratic freedoms. “We want to see the party continue to have an intersectional approach when they’re looking at abortion access.”

Flint encouraged activists and voters to engage through various means, including volunteering, donating, and contributing skills like graphic design or writing.

“Efforts at the local and state levels, as well as in federal races, can turn out the vote to push for the best abortion access policies that we can in 2025.”

Liana Douillet Guzmán, CEO of FOLX Health, praised the DNC’s commitment to LGBTQIA+ rights as a significant advancement in the quest for equality. Guzmán’s comments come amid growing concern among LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies about the future of their rights.

“The DNC’s commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion and respect is a critical step in the fight for equality,” Guzmán wrote in a statement to Prism. “Ensuring that every individual, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, has access to health care is not just a policy goal—it is a fundamental human right.”

According to a recent survey of FOLX Health’s member base, 90% of the population is concerned about the impact of the election because they fear that these rights are in jeopardy.

“While we were buoyed by what we heard at the DNC, we also hope someday to find ourselves in a future where who’s in office is irrelevant,” Guzmán wrote in a statement to Prism. “In either case, we support high-quality, inclusive health care for everyone—regardless of their gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, or anything else.”

Missing from the platform is a clear road map for how the party will address the ongoing genocide in Gaza and how the party will address immigration. The Muslim Civic Coalition (MCC), an organization that focuses on civic justice and addressing critical issues impacting our communities, including gun violence, homelessness, inequitable health care, mass incarceration, and the need for good roads and mass transportation, said the platform is not enough.

“We believe it’s unjust that billions of our tax dollars are spent on the occupation and genocide of Palestinians, as well as wars across the globe, when those resources are desperately needed to address pressing challenges here at home,” said Rija Arshad, civic justice organizer with MCC.

According to Laila Mokhiber, senior director of communications at UNRWA USA, the platform lacks a plan for real action. UNRWA USA Executive Director Mara Kronenfeld and Director of Philanthropy Hani Almadhoun recently spoke at the Progressives for Palestine convention in Chicago, organized by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Progressive Democrats of America, and the Arab American Institute, to highlight what’s being overlooked at the DNC: the urgent needs of people in Gaza.

“Despite the recognition of voices calling for a ceasefire and an end to the suffering in Gaza, real action seems to be missing here in the U.S.” said Mokhiber. “It’s disheartening that while every life is precious, the lives of Palestine refugees are often treated as if they’re disposable. Since October, every aspect of life in Gaza has been devastated, leaving people without basic necessities and destroying their homes, schools, health care facilities, and infrastructure. Our mission is to ensure their humanity is acknowledged and that their immediate needs are met. This isn’t just a political issue; it’s about upholding human dignity and offering real support to those who are suffering.”

Mokhiber said they would like to see an unequivocal push for a permanent ceasefire and the full restoration of U.S. government funding for UNRWA, the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza and a lifeline to 5.9 million Palestine refugees across the region.

It’s not just having the right words on the platform, Flint said. “Now it is, how do we implement it? How do we get that into policy?”

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