Women’s Group Blasts Pelosi Over Remarks That Dems Should Open Up to Anti-Choice Policy Candidates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 3, 2017
CONTACT: Yasmina Dardari | 407-922-8149 | yasmina@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet Action Blasts Speaker Pelosi Over Remarks That the Democratic Party Should Open Up to Candidates Who Will Trade Away Women’s Rights
The House Minority Leader Recently Suggested that Democrats Were Unable to Win Over Democratic-Leaning Social Conservatives in the 2016 Presidential Election Over Rigid Pro-Choice Stance
Yesterday, in a meeting with the Washington Post, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) told reporters that support for pro-choice abortion policy should not be a litmus test for Democratic Party candidates. She elaborated that in order to gain support from Democratic-leaning social conservatives who voted for Donald Trump, the party should have a more flexible abortion policy stance, disapproving of any pro-choice ideological test in accepting members into the party.
UltraViolet Action, a leading national women’s advocacy group, raised serious concerns over Pelosi’s comments and what they mean for the future of the Democratic party and women’s access to safe, legal abortion.
Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet Action, explained:
“Nancy Pelosi is dead wrong if she believes that the Democratic Party should open its arms to candidates who will legislate away women’s access to safe, legal abortion. People are entitled to their own personal view, but the Democratic Party cannot and should not support and endorse candidates who seek to legislate their personal beliefs on others. Courting social conservatives by selling out women is not a winning campaign strategy, but a morally bankrupt attempt to win votes without concern for the women who desperately need Democrats in their corner to fight against Republican attempts to restrict abortion. And it’s a flawed strategy: The vast majority of people in this country support a woman’s right to choose abortion.
“Make no mistake: As the Democratic leader in the House, Pelosi’s unsettling statements have the power to set the agenda for the party, and Democrats must commit themselves fully to protecting the rights of women as a non-negotiable party stance without exception. If the Democrats will not stand by women unconditionally and support their right to reproductive health care, then who will?”
For interview with UltraViolet Action, please contact Yasmina Dardari at 407-922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.
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UltraViolet Action is an online community of over 1,00,000 women and men who take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.