Tell the DCCC to Support Only Pro-Choice Candidates

In recent years, the constitutional right to abortion has been eroded by anti-abortion politicians. Unsurprisingly, Republicans are at the forefront of these attacks, but our rights are also endangered when anti-choice candidates rise to elected office on the left.

Democrats in Washington and in other states have long stood strong in supporting a woman’s right to choose, and DNC Chair Tom Perez has also voiced unequivocal support. Unfortunately, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is responsible for recruiting candidates, has waffled and fallen short.

We can’t afford to lose the hard-fought battle for safe abortion access, and that starts with demanding that our candidates and elected officials protect our rights. Will you add your name in support of our petition calling on the DCCC to follow the lead of Washington Democrats and the DNC by only supporting candidates who will protect abortion access?

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Subject: Support only pro-choice candidates

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Dear Members of the DCCC,

As an activist in the progressive movement, I’m fighting for change from state capitols across the country in red, blue and purple states. That’s why I’m alarmed by the move to allow anti-abortion Democratic lawmakers and marginalize the issue within the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

As a progressive voter, I reject any efforts to weaken, undermine, or hedge on public and proud support for reproductive rights including the right to abortion access for everyone in America. Democrats in Washington and other states have long stood strong in supporting a woman’s right to choose, and DNC Chair Tom Perez has also voiced unequivocal support. We need, now more than ever, for the DCCC to do the same.

Right-wing conservatives have made their intentions clear: a total ban on abortion and nothing less. That’s why Republicans continue to punish, shame and stigmatize women for their reproductive choices and to support laws that put women’s health at risk, limit access and create huge barriers for both providers and the people they serve, particularly low-income women and women of color who have the least access to health care and abortion.

As progressives, it isn’t enough for us just to oppose Republican policies or promote reproductive rights when we are directly under attack. We must stand for a vision that speaks to fundamental values of autonomy, equity, liberty and self-determination and fight for an America where people can access the medical care they deserve based on their own judgment, including abortions. Trusting and equipping women to regulate their own reproductive lives is fundamental to achieving the kind of gender, race, and economic equity that the Democratic Party articulates as its key values.

We know that progressive leaders in Congress have strong pro-choice voting records and support the party's platform supporting abortion access. But their commitment to Democratic values and to women as a key constituency rings hollow when these same leaders welcome anti-abortion lawmakers into the Democratic Party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee must support only candidates who unequivocally stand up for the right to abortion access.

Support for other important issues like minimum wage, stopping climate change, health care for all, etc. doesn’t give anti-choice policy-makers a pass on abortion. Nor is it right that abortion is the only issue singled out for this 'big tent' treatment, marginalizing women, the biggest part of the Democratic base, within the very Party that is supposed to champion their rights.

As leaders in the progressive movement, we strongly caution the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and its leaders about the dangers of abandoning core progressive values. Our first responsibility as Progressives and as Democrats is to fight for values shared by our own Party supporters, not to compromise our long-term priorities to pander to short-term thinking. For decades, a majority of voters in our country have supported the right to safe, legal abortions. According to Gallup, 71% of Democrats are pro-choice, the highest percentage in 17 years.

Today, as opponents of women’s rights and health are waging a full-fledged war on women, progressives ought to redouble commitment to the values we know will create a more just and progressive society. Rather than accommodate policy-makers who will support the very same attacks on women that we spend so much time fighting, we must protect access to abortion as a reproductive right contained in the Democratic Party Platform. Lip service won’t suffice.

Women deserve an unwavering commitment to securing reproductive autonomy for all, regardless of income level or geography, so that every person in our nation has the right to decide if, when and how to start a family. It’s not just the right thing to do, it is our responsibility as progressives.

Signed,

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