Russet Perry and Amy Laufer Discuss Protecting Abortion Access in Upcoming VA Elections with EMILYs List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Reproductive Freedom for All

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Reproductive Freedom for All held a press call with Russet Perry, Democratic candidate for VA Senate District 31, and Amy Laufer, Democratic candidate for the VA House of Delegates District 55, to discuss Virginia’s upcoming election, the key legislative races that are essential to protect abortion access in the South, and Republican efforts to lie to voters and rebrand their extreme positions on abortion before Election Day. 

“Hear me when I say, November 7th will determine the future of abortion access in Virginia…Protecting abortion access in the Commonwealth is mission-critical,” said Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson. “The moment politicians decide when and what we can and cannot do with our bodies or insert themselves in our private health care decisions, we are less free.”

“The bottom line is this: No matter what the GOP calls it, or how they try to couch it, the truth remains that voters don’t want politicians interfering in their lives, and they won’t be fooled by anti-abortion Republicans’ tricks,” said Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju. “We know exactly how crucial these elections are in Virginia. Abortion access is on the line — so there is no stone we will leave unturned as we mobilize voters to ensure Virginians have true champions in the General Assembly.”

“We know that this election will determine the fundamental freedoms of Virginians for years to come. We know this, but Republicans know this as well, and that is why they are spending millions of dollars lying to voters about their stance on abortion,” said EMILYs List Interim President Jessica Mackler. “It’s clear that Republicans are trying to brazenly deny the truth of their own deeply unpopular positions. [They] will say anything to win elections, but the reality is if they’re elected, we know that they will not hesitate to ban abortion.”

“We deserve better than leaders who want to politicize our health care and I’m running to ensure that we maintain the right to choose in Virginia and across the South as the last state to protect that right,” said Russet Perry, Democratic candidate for VA Senate District 31. “My district and my race will likely be the deciding vote to protect or to ban abortion in the Virginia state Senate. Because my seat is the tipping-point seat for which party controls the Senate…And I’m running against an anti-choice extremist who has aligned himself with the most radical people in his party.”

“As I knock on doors and meet with voters across the political spectrum, it’s clear to me that Virginians are even more fired up about protecting abortion access than they were earlier this year,” said Amy Laufer, Democratic candidate for the VA House of Delegates District 55. “I won my primary and saw some of the highest turnout across the commonwealth in June because my race against an anti-choice candidate was centered on protecting our reproductive rights. Virginians won’t stand for extreme politicians who think they have the right to take our rights away or control our bodies, and neither will I.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.