HOUSTON — A personal campaign ad from the Democratic candidate for governor has introduced Texas’ strict antiabortion laws into a competitive race — without ever mentioning the word abortion.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is running against three-term Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, recently released an ad called “Her Story,” in which she recounts the difficult decision she and her husband made 23 years ago to continue her first pregnancy even after genetic testing revealed a fetal anomaly.
“My husband and I were overjoyed, expecting our first until an unimaginable diagnosis,” Hinojosa says in the ad, which first aired Aug. 31. “The doctor said, ‘I need you to understand, she’s not going to live.’”
“I did understand, but I was making that choice. I chose her,” Hinojosa says in the ad. “Born shortly after her due date, she didn’t make it.”
Though Hinojosa, 52, does not mention abortion rights in the 60-second spot, focusing instead on how the ordeal would later inspire her to fight for her constituents, her use of the word “choice” resonates clearly in a state that has passed some of the strictest antiabortion laws in the country. .
Abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy with no exception for rape, incest or fetal anomalies. State law bars people from mailing or distributing abortion pills, and doctors can be prosecuted criminally and civilly for performing abortions.
Hinojosa, who is Catholic, voted against the state abortion ban and other antiabortion measures during nine years representing a liberal Austin district. She first shared the story of her pregnancy loss five years ago on the floor of the legislature while fighting the state ban. Under the ban, Hinojosa would not have had a choice to terminate her pregnancy.
Abbott, who is also Catholic, has shared his own story of adopting his now 29-year-old daughter from a woman who chose not to have an abortion after visiting a crisis pregnancy center. He’s signed numerous antiabortion measures into law, including the state’s effective ban on abortions .
Political observers from both parties say Hinojosa’s ad has the potential to sway swing voters in a tight race. Recent polls put Hinojosa within a percentage point of Abbott, who is facing growing dissatisfaction — including from his conservative base — over data centers, public school vouchers and the economy.
Manny Garcia, an Austin-based Democrat strategist, said the ad taps into frustration among Texas voters.
“It shows the real-life concern of what people actually go through, especially in an area with reduced access to health care services, dealing with a Republican regime that has made it harder for women to talk to their doctors and for doctors to be able to provide services,” he said.
Even some conservative political experts said the ad would probably have an effect on voters, particularly Catholic Latinos in South Texas who supported Donald Trump in the last election but who polls show have since soured on the Republican Party.
“There’s an appeal here to try to win those folks back,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas GOP strategist, who called the ad “sad but endearing, something people can relate to.”
“It’s showing the human side of her. … It’s a way for her to not alienate her pro-choice base by saying ‘I chose to have the baby,’” he said. “It’s like she’s trying to have it both ways because she chose, but she chose life.”
In an interview with The Washington Post last weekend, Hinojosa said the ad’s message is that abortion shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
“Life is complicated. And it’s in that space where we are all just trying to do the best we can that I think we can connect with one another across party lines,” Hinojosa said. “People are thirsty for connection and less interested in belonging to camps but more interested in finding a new way forward … where we treat each other with humanity and with respect.”
Hinojosa told The Post that after a routine sonogram revealed a heart defect, she had genetic testing that showed her fetus had Trisomy 18. The genetic condition often leads to heart defects, low birth weight and death within a year.
Hinojosa was in her second trimester. She and her husband had already picked out the baby’s name, which they don’t share publicly. They took a week to confer with family and friends.
A nun at their church said, “We don’t believe in abortion under any circumstances,” Hinojosa recalled. “I argued with her. She said: ‘I know, I know what you are telling me. We just don’t believe in it.”
At the same time, Hinojosa said she had relatives opposed to abortion who nevertheless said: “This is different, it’s okay to terminate.”
“I made the decision to continue with the pregnancy, mostly because I just already loved her. I already felt her kicking,” Hinojosa told The Post. She said the baby was stillborn.
Hinojosa said that after the loss, she “went through a dark time.” She met other women who had received the same diagnosis, she said: One had a baby who lived, briefly. Another told Hinojosa that after learning the diagnosis, her baby’s father left and she ultimately had an abortion.
A few years later, Hinojosa had her first son, now 21, and then her second son who’s 14. But as she notes in the ad, it was that first baby who “gave me the strength to fight.”
“That’s why I did this: So that people understand this is who I am,” Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa has a record of supporting abortion rights in the legislature, but, Steinhauser said, “Very few people know that. Unless Abbott spends money saying that when she had the chance to vote pro-life she didn’t. Let’s see if he answers.”
In recent days, Abbott has attacked Hinojosa on social media, dubbing her “Job Killer Gina” and warning “Gina wants to turn your school into a gender transition camp.” He has not mentioned her positions on abortion, and a campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Hinojosa’s ad.
John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, called the ad “hypocritical” and accused Hinojosa of “deceiving voters” by “trying to appear pro-life.”
“If you did not know the context and her record, you would assume she’s a pro-life legislator,” Seago said. “This could confuse uninformed or new voters.”
He noted that abortion “is a big motivator for a lot of Republicans” particularly Latinos in South Texas. His group’s “pro-life scorecard” for the most recent legislative session last year rated Hinojosa at 0 percent.
“We know who she is, and we will be trying to get the word out,” he said.
The post Democrat’s ad about tragic pregnancy injects abortion into tight governor’s race appeared first on Washington Post.
