Washington, D.C. - Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) is disappointed that Vice President Joe Biden changed his position on the bi-partisan Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion unless a pregnancy is a result of rape or incest or is done to save the life of the mother.

“We are extremely disappointed that Vice President Biden choose to cave to the pressure of the abortion lobby instead of standing with a majority of Americans who support the Hyde Amendment,” said Kristen Day, the executive director of DFLA. “With all the major candidates fighting to be the most extreme on abortion, there is a wide open lane for a candidate to bring an alternative position to the discussion and to unify Democrats around common ground principles.”

 The Hyde Amendment was signed into law in 1977 by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, with the support of almost half of the Democratic legislators in the U.S. Congress. Today, 58% of Americans still oppose federal funding of abortion (2016 Politico/Harvard (Chan School) Poll)

“As pro-life Democrats, we would like to see the focus on support for mothers to make abortion rare,” said Day. “We believe that our Democratic Party can and should find common ground along those lines. Considering the large number of poor women who believe that abortion is their only choice, paying for abortion and not focusing on alternatives does not coincide with our Democratic values.”

 According to the Guttmacher Institute, most women (75 percent) who seek abortions are living in poverty.  Yet polls indicate that that same demographic – the 75 percent of women who seek abortions and are living in poverty -- opposes public funds to pay for abortion. According to the 2016 Politico/Harvard (Chan School) Poll, "Voters making more than $75,000 were more supportive of using Medicaid funds for abortion services (45% favor) than those making $25,000 or less (24% favor)." 

“As Democrats, we advocate for equal opportunity and equality,” said Day. “Poor women don’t want money for abortions; they want the same opportunities to parent as their rich counterparts. We believe that the Democratic 2020 candidates should move the debate from abortion-access to how are we going to provide low-income women with the same opportunities and a real choice?”

STATEMENT OF KRISTEN DAY,

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEMOCRATS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA

Democrats for Life of America congratulates Governor John Bel Edwards for his integrity and courage by signing Louisiana’s legislation to prohibit abortion once a heartbeat is detected.

Governor Edwards is a leader for the “pro-life-for-the-whole-life” movement by advocating for life in the womb, women with unplanned pregnancies, and support for families and for any person who needs assistance. We commend his consistent approach to governing.

In his first official act after his election in 2015, Governor Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid, providing more than 450,000 of the state’s working poor with health-care coverage. As a result, new mothers have better access to prenatal and postnatal care, and Louisianans have better access to preventive and primary health care. Medicaid expansion has also been linked to more economic stability for families.

Governor Edwards has prioritized finding homes for children in foster care and children in need of loving homes. As a result, Louisiana set a record for the number of children adopted from foster care, increased the number of adoptions overall, and decreased the number of children in need of adoption; and abortions have dropped by 15 percent – from 10,211 in 2014 to 8,049 in 2018. The governor’s whole-life support includes funding for early childhood education, which was drastically cut by his Republican predecessor, and a living wage for families to support themselves.

Democrats for Life of America supports legislation to recognize the fact that life begins in the womb and the fact that a fetal heartbeat can be seen and heard at six weeks. However, we must continue to address the difficulty of our struggle to make the long-term commitment to that new life and the reality of the challenges that many women face, including poverty, pressure to abort their children, and news of a prenatal diagnosis. We urge states that passed, or are considering, reasonable abortion regulations to follow the lead of Governor John Bel Edwards by looking for opportunities and implementing meaningful support for economically vulnerable women and families.

The Republican Party’s efforts to pass abortion regulations that are unaccompanied by strong social supports will only cement the idea that "pro-life" people don’t care about the children after birth or about their mothers. The Democratic Party’s efforts to move away from the goal of making abortion “safe, legal, and rare” – the goal set by President Clinton – along with an increased effort to exclude pro-life Democrats from the party, are only playing into the Republicans’ hands to reduce the effectiveness of the Democrats’ ability to protect both women and children.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2019

CONTACT: Kristen Day

(703) 424-6663

Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) opposes the Progressive Caucus’ call to enforce an abortion litmus test on its members. In a letter to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), DFLA Executive Director Kristen Day explained why pro-life Democrats should not be expelled from the party and requested a meeting to discuss further why inclusion is necessary.

Day explained, “We believe that the government has a responsibility to protect ALL those who need assistance,” and she referred to former Vice President Humbert Humphrey’s quotation about the moral test of government:

“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.”

Day continued, “Pro-life Democrats have varying reasons for why we include life in the womb as worthy of governmental protection and support, but we are united in supporting a robust social safety net and other assistance to families who need it. We oppose cuts to programs that provide assistance, and we support a living wage so that families can provide for their needs. We also believe that health care is a right. DFLA was the ONLY pro-life organization to support the Affordable Care Act, and we defended it as a pro-life accomplishment.”

Pro-life Democrats have been crucial to promoting Democratic values in health care, Medicaid expansion, equal pay for women, and other Democratic policies.

Day also reminded Congresswoman Jayapal: “We are a party of diversity and inclusion. We seek to include people who have been disenfranchised, those who have been left out, and those who believe that no one is fighting for them. Any effort to exclude people based on their beliefs – whether they be for scientific, religious, or personal reasons – goes directly against our big-tent-party policy.

DFL of Pennsylvania joined Abby Johnson outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic on May 10, 2019.

Here is a letter from our PA State Chapter leader explaining why. 

Hello Pro-Life Democrats of Pennsylvania,

 This Friday at 11AM, former Planned Parenthood director and Pro-Life advocate Abby Johnson will be praying outside of this abortion clinic.

 We ask that you of Democrats for Life of Pennsylvania join us outside at this rally to witness to life, and to the fact that Pro-Life Democrats exist and that we have a place in this party.

We are living in heady times, where uncivility and abrasive behavior in politics has taken up much of our political discourse. 

Philadelphia State Representative Brian Sims has made bad news for himself by uploading two Twitter live streams of himself intimidating and berating Pro-Life witnesses and sidewalk counselors outside of the 12th and Locust Planned Parenthood situation. 

If you have not viewed these videos, you may do so here:

https://mobile.twitter.com/briansimspa/status/1123989366446206977?s=21

https://twitter.com/LiveAction/status/1125501013790724097

We at Democrats for Life of Pennsylvania believe this behavior by State Rep. Brian Sims is both outrageous and unacceptable.

 We are calling on our Pro-Life Democratic legislators in Harrisburg to denounce Rep. Sims outrageous behavior, and we ask that Rep. Sims apologize to those he intimidated on live social media streams and to his constituents for his behavior.

We will not be backed down by bullies like State Rep. Brian Sims. We will stand firm, united as Democrats For Life with our Whole Life message that cares for both mother and child in their time of need when mothers unexpectedly find themselves pregnant. 

If you are available to join us, please email us at penndemsforlife@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued witness to the Whole Life cause.