Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Patricia Timmons-Goodson for Congress
For Immediate Release: August 12, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
NARAL Pro-Choice America today announced its endorsement of former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson in her campaign to be elected U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District. She is now seeking to flip the seat currently held by anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican incumbent Representative Richard Hudson.
“Patricia Timmons-Goodson is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom and will stand strong in Congress against attacks on abortion access” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue. “Flipping this seat will not only bring the voters of North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District a representative who truly represents their values, but will also help expand the majority for reproductive freedom in the House of Representatives. NARAL is proud to endorse Patricia Timmons-Goodson and looks forward to sending her to Congress.”
“Every aspect of reproductive freedom – including access to abortion and contraception, investments in child care, policies mandating paid sick and parental leave, and the expansion of Medicaid – is on the ballot in North Carolina this November,” said NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina Executive Director Tara Romano. “Voters have an opportunity to create real and sustainable gains for reproductive freedom for all when they cast their votes for Governor, Council of State positions, legislators, county commissioners and judges. Our supporters know the importance of electing progressive, pro-choice candidates up and down the ballot.”
“There is nothing more personal than a woman’s choice regarding her body,” said Patricia Timmons-Goodson. “I believe that the government should not stand between a woman and her doctor in making those decisions. I share NARAL’s commitment to protecting freedom and choice in reproductive rights and am glad to have their support for our campaign.”
Patricia Timmons-Goodson was the first Black woman to serve as a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice. She was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 2014 and was nominated by President Obama in 2016 to serve as a federal judge before the nomination was blocked by Sens. Richard Burr and Mitch McConnell.
Timmons-Goodson is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson, an anti-choice, anti-freedom conservative who has earned a 0% score in NARAL’s Congressional Record on Choice. As Congressman he has voted to ban and criminalize abortion, to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act, and to rescind Title X protections, which help support family planning and reproductive health services for low-income North Carolinians.
In addition to this Congressional endorsement, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its affiliate NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina are making major investments to elect champions for reproductive freedom up and down the ballot in North Carolina in 2020, from city council to the state legislature to the U.S. Senate.
NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina recently endorsed a slate of candidates for local and statewide office, including Governor Roy Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein, Dr. Kimberly Hardy (HD-43), Julie Mayfield (SD-49), and Judge Christopher Brooks in his bid to be elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. NARAL Pro-Choice America also endorsed Cal Cunningham in his bid to unseat Senator Thom Tillis, whose hostility to Roe v. Wade and vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, show how out-of-step his views are with the majority of North Carolinians.
North Carolina already has some of the most severe restrictions on abortion access in the United States, which include forcing multi-day delays before a woman can receive abortion care and subjecting women to mandatory biased counseling. Over 90% of North Carolina counties have no clinics providing abortion care and more than half of North Carolina women live in a county without an abortion clinic.
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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.”