For Immediate Release: October 17, 2018
Contact: [email protected]
NARAL Pro-Choice America today announced its endorsement of Gretchen Whitmer in her campaign for Governor of Michigan.
“Gretchen Whitmer has a strong record of fighting for women and families in Michigan. NARAL is thrilled to endorse her,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Her leadership is so needed in Michigan, a state where funding for women’s health care is under threat, anti-choice laws remain on the books, and Republicans routinely try to silence women. We’re proud to be on her team and look forward to helping her win in November.”
“I am honored to have the support of NARAL Pro-Choice America,” said Whitmer. “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher for Michigan women and families. As Governor, I will work fiercely to defend the rights of every Michigan woman, including women’s access to all forms of reproductive care and contraception. I will fight to pass state laws that will protect women’s legal right to control their bodies and make their own decisions about whether and when to become a parent. Michigan women and families deserve a leader who will work to expand access to health care instead of trying to take it away like Donald Trump and Bill Schuette. That’s why this endorsement means so much to me. Organizations like NARAL are on the front-lines everyday working to ensure women can get access to the care they need. By working together we can build a better Michigan for all us. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
Gretchen Whitmer has been a powerful voice for women in Michigan for the last 18 years. When Michigan Republicans locked the doors of the Capitol to avoid public hearings on anti-worker legislation, Whitmer led protests from her office. She was a vocal participant in the March on Lansing, fighting back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on women. As governor, Whitmer has vowed to repeal an outdated and dangerous law that criminalizes abortion and labels medical professionals that provide abortion care as felons. She will fight to reinstate funding for family planning and expand access to quality healthcare for Michiganders and will fight to protect access to abortion and remove harmful barriers to women seeking care and contraception.
NARAL’s political program for the 2018 general election is the organization’s largest ever midterm political program to advance candidates fighting for “our values, our future, our vote.” NARAL is investing in diverse candidates up and down the ballot in 19 states, mobilizing members and voters through mail, phones, digital ads, door to door canvassing, TV ads, and rallies that hold anti-choice candidates accountable and lift up pro-choice champions. To read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates, click here.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”