A major dispute arose this week when Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Ben Ray Lujan noted that there would be no “litmus test” for Democrats running in the 2018 elections. Specifically, he opened the door to supporting anti-abortion Democrats in that contest in which Democrats must win 24 seats to gain a majority in the House of Representatives. In fact, that’s not a new stance from the DCCC.
But Lujan’s remarks sparked considerable anger from reproductive rights activists and their allies for throwing women under the bus. And this, while across the nation, Planned Parenthood is under attack and state after state is passing new restrictions on abortion, 41 of them this year alone, hundreds in the past six years.
Consequently, an ad hoc coalition of progressives has issued a statement, endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice America, challenging the DCCC’s approach. (You can read the entire statement below.)
On Monday, when Lujan made his comments in an interview with The Hill, my colleague Laura Clawson wrote:
No litmus tests? Are we talking about the Democratic Party allowing people the wiggle room to say they’re personally opposed to abortion but don’t support laws taking control over their own bodies out of women’s hands? Or are we talking about the Democratic Party giving money to people who’d vote for a bill forcing women to have medically unnecessary vaginal ultrasounds? There’s kind of a difference there.
Quite a difference. A number of prominent Democrats, former Vice President Joe Biden, for instance, are personally opposed to abortion, but they do not support laws that keep women from getting abortions or make it more expensive, time-consuming, and otherwise troublesome to do so. They would pass any litmus test. The point is not personal belief.
There are, however, scores of Democrats in state legislatures, who have not only voted for, but sometimes co-sponsored or even drafted draconian anti-abortion laws. One is Julie Bartling.
First elected to the South Dakota House in 2000, she is now the assistant minority leader in that heavily Republican body. In 2006, she was a highly vocal co-sponsor of a bill that would have banned abortions. South Dakotans shot that down in a subsequent referendum, but Bartling continues to support South Dakota anti-abortion laws that are some of the worst in the nation.
If Bartling ran for a seat in Congress, is she someone the party should endorse? Doing so would make rubbish of the viewpoint that reproductive rights are human rights.
The statement was put together by NARAL Pro-Choice America and Democracy for America, and has been endorsed MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Emily’s List, Working Families Party, Ultraviolet, DEMOS, the American Federation of Teachers, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Indivisible Project, Social Security Works, and Daily Kos.
Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America said in the press release announcing the statement of principles:
“Our basic rights and freedoms are under assault daily from the Trump Administration,” “The Democratic Party cannot give an inch in their opposition to this Administration. That is true across the board and especially true when it comes to abortion rights. The Democratic Party cannot and will not win if it turns it’s back on women and our fundamental rights.”
Executive Director of Democracy for America Charles Chamberlain said:
“Democrats will fail to retake power in 2018 if we allow ourselves to be forced into a false choice between a populist progressive agenda and reproductive justice. Abortion rights are inextricably tied to the fight against economic and racial inequity, full stop, and until all leaders of our party fully understand that we’re going to keep losing.”
Statement of Principles:
As progressives, we know we cannot have a real conversation about economic security that does not include the ability to decide if, when, and how to raise a family; that being able to plan a pregnancy has a powerful effect on educational attainment, career trajectory, and chance to define our own destinies.
As progressives, we stand united in the belief that a woman’s autonomy over her own body is not a secondary issue or a “social issue,” but rather a human right and a necessity in order to attain and preserve economic security in her life.
As progressives, we acknowledge that the current economic system is exceptionally punishing of mothers, single mothers, and mothers of color whose wages, job opportunities, and economic advancement suffer due to the “motherhood penalty.”
As progressives, we stand united in our belief that 21st century economic populism must include an understanding of how race and gender affect our economic reality and our economic opportunity.
As a progressive movement, we recognize that over the last decade there has been a massive erosion of access to abortion and attacks on contraception and we cannot back away from this fight without abandoning people and undercutting core constituencies in our base.
As we always have, progressives share our party with people who personally don’t believe that abortion is an option for them. This includes self-identified “pro-life” legislators up until the moment they seek to impose those personal views on their constituents and the country. If they vote to restrict abortion access or contraception access, they then undercut the party platform and they undercut the welfare of women. We strive for and believe in personal evolution and growth so, if they have voted to do so in the past, the burden of proof is upon them through subsequent votes and/or public statements — not in the heat of a campaign — but prior to running for office or reelection.
Thus, as progressives, we know to organize, mobilize, and win elections we must field candidates who understand the integral nature of these core values and bring the full power of our collective base to win.