Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Georgia State Representative Bee Nguyen for Secretary of State
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Contact: [email protected]
Nation’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group endorses Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen (HD-89) for secretary of state
Washington, DC — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its endorsement of Georgia state Representative Bee Nguyen in her bid to become Georgia’s next secretary of state in the 2022 election. State Rep. Nguyen currently represents Georgia’s 89th state House District and is running to unseat Brad Raffensperger, the anti-choice Republican incumbent.
NARAL Pro-Choice America Southeast Campaigns Director Alicia Stallworth released the following statement:
“NARAL Pro-Choice America is proud to support state Rep. Bee Nguyen in her race for secretary of state. The fights for reproductive freedom and the freedom to vote are inextricably linked, and anti-choice extremists create barriers to the ballot box in order to block us from electing leaders who truly represent the values of the majority. As anti-choice politicians across the country ramp up their attacks on voting and abortion rights, Georgians need a secretary of state like Rep. Nguyen who has dedicated her career to these fights. NARAL and our 54,000 members across Georgia are excited to support state Rep. Nguyen in her campaign for secretary of state.”
State Representative Bee Nguyen released the following statement:
“Reproductive freedom across the country and in Georgia is under attack. As one of five sisters, I understand how essential the right to decide is for women and families. The fundamental right to make decisions about our bodies is about health, economic justice, and gender equality. Attacks on voting rights and reproductive freedom go hand in hand. If we are not guaranteed accessible and fair elections, Georgians cannot elect champions who will protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms. As secretary of state, I will protect our sacred right to vote and the security of our democracy, so we can continue to participate fully in our democracy and fight for justice.”
The anti-choice movement has adopted voter suppression as a central component of its attacks on reproductive freedom. Anti-choice Republicans in Georgia are attacking voting rights because they know they can’t win on the merits of their unpopular policies, so they attack the right to vote itself and create barriers to accessing the ballot box. Bee Nguyen has worked at the intersection of voting rights and reproductive freedom and knows that the secretary of state is critical to preserving access to abortion for Georgians.
Listening to state leaders and recognizing the power and necessity of real on-the-ground investments, NARAL Pro-Choice America launched its Georgia chapter in 2017 to help build the progressive momentum and infrastructure necessary to make Georgia a key battleground state. NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia spent years working alongside other in-state groups to lay the foundation to help flip Georgia blue, mobilizing tens of thousands of voters to turn out for reproductive freedom candidates in the 2020 elections.
This endorsement comes as anti-choice, anti-freedom state lawmakers have unleashed an all-out assault on abortion access. This year, more than 100 restrictions on abortion access have been enacted at the state level, making it the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was decided. These restrictions include Texas’ blatantly unconstitutional SB 8, a vigilante-enforced ban on abortion at approximately six weeks, before many people even know they are pregnant. Recently, Georgia State Senate President Butch Miller (R) announced that he was working with anti-choice groups to pass a provision similar to Texas’ ban during Georgia’s next legislative session. These restrictions disproportionately push access out of reach for Black and brown people, Indigenous people, and other people of color; LGBTQ people; those with low incomes; and others who face systemic barriers to care.
The fight for reproductive freedom is facing a pivotal moment. Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case regarding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe. There is no path for the Court to uphold Mississippi’s ban without overturning the landmark abortion rights case.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, paid family leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.