EMILY's List
EMILY's List women take on Stupak/Pitts Amendment
By Emily on 11/23/2009 @ 03:43 PM
We've long known that EMILY's List elected women are the firewall against restrictions on women's reproductive rights. Right, now, amidst debate about the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in the House's health care bill, EMILY's List women in the House and Senate are taking action to prevent the measure from becoming law. The amendment would deny millions of women access to safe, affordable reproductive care and it would prohibit millions of women from getting coverage for abortion in their health insurance, even if they pay for it themselves!
Every woman EMILY's List helped elect to the House voted against the Stupak/Pitts Amendment, and many of our woman have been at the forefront of the battle against the amendment. We've collected a number of videos you don't want to miss, highlighting our women in action.
In her November 7 floor speech in opposition to the amendment, Cong. Diana DeGette (CO-01), co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, spoke out about the amendment and explained the dangerous potential outcomes of the passage of Stupak/Pitts.
You can read a transcript of her floor speech here.
Following Cong. DeGette's speech, more EMILY's List alums took to the floor, including Congs. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Louise Slaughter (NY-28), featured below.
After the House voted to pass the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, DeGette circulated a letter to President Obama and collected signatures from members of Congress who would refuse to vote for a final health care bill that contained Stupak/Pitts language. On November 8, she and Cong. Louise Slaughter, her Pro-Choice Caucus co-chair, released a joint statement on the Stupak-Pitts vote.
DeGette also appeared as a guest on Rachel Maddow, and along with Cong. Jan Schakowsy (IL-09), published an op-ed on a woman's right to choose. Schakowsy vowed that progressives would fight back.
Our newest EMILY's List alum in the U.S. Senate, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, held a press conference on the amendment, followed up with a Huffington Post blog entry, echoing Cong. DeGette's letter and giving her support to it before the Senate health care bill was even released. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI) also took to television this weekend and told Fox News that she would not support the Stupak/Pitts language in the Senate bill.
And elected EMILY's List women aren't the only ones taking a stand. Our Massachusetts Senate candidate, Martha Coakley was the first of the four Democratic candidates in her race to speak out against the amendment. EMILY's List House candidate Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02) has also taken a stand against Stupak/Pitts.
We're proud of the work our women are doing to protect women's reproductive rights -- and the Stupak/Pitts battle has certainly served as a strong reminder of why our work to elect pro-choice Democratic women is so important.
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