A new way to talk about abortion? In Maine, using deep conversation to reach voters
Planned Parenthood volunteer Sarah Mahoney checks a list of addresses in Windham, Maine to see which door to knock on next. (Patty Wight/Maine Public)
It’s Saturday, and Sarah Mahoney is one of several Planned Parenthood volunteers knocking on doors in Windham, Maine, a politically moderate town not far from Portland.
No one answers at the first couple of houses. But as Mahoney heads up the street, she sees a woman out for a walk.
“Hey! We’re out canvassing,” she says. “Would you mind having a conversation with us?”
Mahoney wants to talk about abortion — not a typical topic for a conversation, especially with a stranger.
But the woman, Kerry Kelchner, agrees to talk.
If this were typical door-to-door canvassing, Mahoney might ask Kelchner about a political candidate, remind her to vote and then be on her way.
But Mahoney is deep canvassing — a technique that employs longer conversations to move opinions on hot-button issues.
Planned Parenthood in Maine has deployed the strategy for several years amid what it says are increasing threats to reproductive rights. This year alone, states have enacted more than 100 restrictions on abortion, including one in Texas that bans most abortions after six weeks. This month, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case about a Mississippi law that could lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion.
Emphasizing the deeply personal over the political
Although state law in Maine protects abortion rights even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion opponents have gained traction in the state in recent years. So volunteers like Mahoney start conversations. And they can get quite personal.
Mahoney first assesses Kelchner’s baseline attitude on abortion access on a scale of 0 to 10. A 10 means the interviewee believes anyone should be able to get an abortion for any reason.
Kelchner says she’s a 7.
For the rest of this story, including the audio version, please visit MainePublic.org. This feature comes from NPR’s health reporting partnership with Maine Public Radio and KHN.