Because, in many ways, they're the only ones with the institutional backing of a major political party. The Democratic establishment gives lip service to "Pro-Choice," but nothing more than that (and that, quietly).
At some point that will have to change, or else Roe v Wade and Griswold v Connecticut will indeed be reversed someday. And i really don't think that's what most people want. At least, I hope not.
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The Democrats' Problem with Abortion
It is time for a pro-choice movement led by the Democratic Party. Only then can we all have a good laugh at Todd Akin again.
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And a NYT op-ed is calling Obama a radical pro-abortion extremist today. And that's a liberal newspaper.
Well, Op-Eds aren't necessarily indicative of the ideology of the paper (when you read about the Wall Street Journal endorsing something out of character, that's usually the reason why).
That said, I cannot imagine what would warrant that kind of label. Obama has been, at best, tepid about pro-choice rights.
Ah. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/opinion/sunday/douthat-the-democrats-abortion-moment.html
"That’s because in Barack Obama, they have a nominee who occupies the far leftward pole of the abortion debate, with a long and reliable record of voting against even modest regulations on the practice — including a vote he cast as an Illinois lawmaker against regulations intended to protect infants born accidentally as a result of a botched abortion. President Obama rarely bothers with Bill Clinton’s “safe, legal and rare” formulation: he’s pro-choice with almost no limitations or exceptions."
Obama has done little to nothing regarding abortion while in office as President — and, in fact, allowed the ACA debate to potentially restrict insurance coverage of abortion further than it currently does. The references to the Illinois state legislature are a bit more complicated than Douthat describes (http://www.factcheck.org/2008/08/obama-and-infanticide/). While there's no doubt that Obama supports a status quo on abortion rights, portraying him as some sort radical infanticide buff or extremist is hardly fair or accurate.