NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Dr. Woody Myers for Governor of Indiana - Reproductive Freedom for All

Formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America

Press Release

NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Dr. Woody Myers for Governor of Indiana

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2020

Contact: [email protected]

Physician and Candidate for Indiana Governor Earns Endorsement from Nation’s Leading Pro-Choice Advocacy Group

NARAL Pro-Choice America today announced its endorsement of Dr. Woody Myers in his campaign for governor of Indiana. Dr. Myers is a physician and former Indiana State Health Commissioner who is now seeking to unseat anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican incumbent Governor Eric Holcomb, who succeeded Vice President Mike Pence.

“NARAL is proud to endorse Dr. Woody Myers, who has devoted his career to the health and wellbeing of Hoosiers,” said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “From Vice President Pence to Governor Holcomb, the state of Indiana has for too long been led by anti-freedom, anti-science politicians pushing an extreme ideological agenda. As a physician, Dr. Myers understands the importance of ensuring every body has access to the full range of reproductive healthcare, including abortion and contraception, and the freedom to make their own personal decisions about pregnancy without political interference.” 

“NARAL Pro-Choice America is a champion for women’s reproductive and healthcare rights,” said Dr. Woody Myers. “I am proud to have their support in this fight to protect women’s healthcare rights and freedoms. Hoosier families deserve a Governor who will stand up for them and their healthcare.

Dr. Woody Myers is the youngest person to serve as Indiana State Health Commissioner and proudly stood up for reproductive freedom during his time in office. As Health Commissioner, Dr. Myers worked to improve maternal and child health, chronic disease control, childhood immunization, and preventive healthcare services. During his tenure, he also helped make Indiana a leader in HIV education.

Governor Eric Holcomb previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Indiana under current Vice President Mike Pence, who has a long history of prioritizing his own extreme personal beliefs over the health, safety, and well-being of Americans. As Governor, Pence notoriously botched his handling of the state’s HIV crisis by failing to proactively implement public health measures recommended by medical experts. 

Like Pence, Governor Eric Holcomb has consistently put his own extreme and out-of-touch ideology above the needs of his constituents. In April, Holcomb was one of several Republican governors to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to attack reproductive freedom and ban abortion. 

Earlier this month, a federal judge struck down an Indiana law targeting abortion providers as unconstitutional. The law, signed by Holcomb in 2018, would have burdened both patients and medical providers with invasive and unnecessary reporting requirements. 

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NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all. For more than 50 years, NARAL has worked 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. Since 1969, NARAL has made history, grown to over 2.5 million members, and met the moments that have defined this fight with action, power, and freedom. 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.”