EMILYs List Statement on the Republican Defeat of the Women’s Health Protection Act

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2022

EMILYs List Statement on the Republican Defeat of the Women’s Health Protection Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Republicans in the Senate defeated the Women's Health Protection Act, following the leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's initial majority opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which revealed a decision to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent. Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY's List, released the following statement:  

“Today, anti-choice politicians in the Senate reminded voters how important it is to elect Democratic pro-choice candidates. Failing to pass the Women's Health Protection Act for a second time will once again leave far too many people without abortion rights, falling hardest on those already disproportionately affected by abortion bans and restrictions. 
 
“After last week's leak from the Supreme Court, it is clear that the future of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion are at stake. There is no question that abortion will be on the ballot this year, and the stretch between the Supreme Court decision and the November elections will be crucial. At EMILY's List, we are proud to stand with the majority of American people that overwhelmingly support reproductive freedom and Roe v. Wade. We will fight harder than ever to elect more Democratic pro-choice women at all levels of government to finish the job and protect our rights.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice 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 and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women 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. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.