Statement from Stephanie Schriock on GOP Senate Candidate Wendy Long’s “Phony War On Women” Remarks

WASHINGTON – Today, EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock released a statement reacting to comments made by GOP Senate candidate Wendy Long. The Buffalo News reports that Long claimed efforts made by her party to limit access to birth control were “a complete fabrication” and dismissed Republican attacks on women’s health and finances as “this whole phony war on women.” Schriock responded:

“It seems impossible that Wendy Long could have missed the last year and a half her party spent attempting to roll back the clock on women’s health and make it harder for women to care for their families. But we’re happy to educate her – the Republican war on women is very real. And New Yorkers know it.”

•New York women make just 83 cents of every dollar a man makes, but Republicans are working to block equal pay legislation that would correct this injustice for the more than 3 million women working full time there.

•Nearly 1 million New York families rely on food stamps to feed their families, but Republicans are attempting to cut these vital services.

•471,750 New York women are served by Title X, which provides basic, vital health care services like birth control and cancer screenings, but Republicans have voted to eliminate this program entirely.

•More than 1.5 million women in New York are Medicare beneficiaries, yet the Republican Party has voted to end Medicare as we know it.

•986,000 New York women aged 19-25 stand to lose health insurance if Republicans succeed in repealing Obamacare and they’re kicked off their parents’ plans.

“New York women couldn’t have a clearer choice this November,” Schriock continued. “Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is a true champion for women and their families – and Wendy Long doesn’t even know the facts. Voters want folks in Washington who understand their daily lives, and that’s why they’ll send Kirsten back to the Senate to keep on fighting for them.”  

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,500,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice, Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.