EMILYs List Puts Vice President Mike Pence “On Notice”

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2020

EMILYs List Puts Vice President Mike Pence “On Notice” For Targeting Women’s Rights and Shortchanging Working Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, put Vice President Mike Pence “On Notice.” EMILYs List is calling out incumbent Republicans for their anti-woman and anti-family records and is working to flip governorships, congressional seats, and legislative chambers from red to blue by electing pro-choice Democratic women in the upcoming 2020 election. 

“Mike Pence has built his career on extremist policies that legalize discrimination and target the rights of women and working families,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “Pence attempted to defund Planned Parenthood six times while in Congress, including by threatening a government shutdown. He has built a long record of attacking women’s rights and punishing women who choose to exercise their reproductive freedom and he has taken those views into the administration. 

“Beyond stripping women of their fundamental rights, Mike Pence’s negligence and disregard for the facts during the HIV crisis in Indiana shows just how dangerous it is for him to lead the handling of a global health pandemic. His dangerous far-right views are further proof he lacks the skill and wherewithal to lead this country out of crisis,” Schriock continued. “Time and time again, Mike Pence has proven that he will pursue extreme policies regardless of the cost to America’s working families. We look forward to making history in November by replacing the vice president with a strong pro-choice Democratic woman.” 

Pence’s Record:

• In Congress, Pence sponsored the first bill to defund Planned Parenthood in 2007. He repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood until it passed the U.S. House in 2011. (Vox, 1/27/17) 
• Pence signed one of the country’s most extreme anti-choice bills into law. Pence signed Indiana House Bill 1337 (HB1337) into law. Among other things, the bill requires a doctor to describe a woman’s embryo to her in graphic detail at least 18 hours before having an abortion. HB1337 also mandated the burying or cremating of a fetus, even in cases of early miscarriage, and required women to justify their abortion to a doctor. The bill stated that a doctor must possess admitting privileges to their local hospital. (Indy Star, 3/24/16)
• As Indiana governor, Pence signed the discriminatory Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law’s broad language allowed “any individual or corporation to cite religious beliefs as a defense when sued by a private party,” disproportionately targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. (Huffington Post, 04/02/15) 
• Pence’s crusade against Planned Parenthood led to an HIV outbreak in Indiana. Pence’s policies forced the closure of several Planned Parenthoods, including a clinic that served as the sole testing site for HIV. (Huffington Post, 3/31/15) 
• Pence cosponsored several appalling anti-choice bills in Congress. As a member of Congress, Pence cosponsored the discriminatory Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, Protect Life Act, Life at Conception Act, and No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Respectively, these bills would force doctors to show women their ultrasounds before an abortion, allow hospitals to deny life-saving abortions to pregnant women, criminalize birth control, fertility treatments, and abortion procedures, and limit the definition of rape to prevent abortions. 
• Pence penned a letter against working mothers. In an anti-working family letter to the Indianapolis Star, Pence claimed that working mothers stunt childrens’ emotional growth. (Indianapolis Star, 1997) 

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 55,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices.