Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Future Leaders for Reproductive Freedom in Key U.S. House Races in Iowa, Illinois, and New York
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Nation’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group endorses three U.S. House candidates ahead of June primary elections
Washington, DC — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its endorsement of three candidates—Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), and Jackie Gordon (NY-01)—running for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Each of these candidates has been named to the DCCC’s Red to Blue program and has demonstrated their commitment to fighting for reproductive freedom at this pivotal moment.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“We are proud to endorse these future leaders for reproductive freedom during this pivotal moment. Christina Bohannan, Nikki Budzinski, and Jackie Gordon are committed to fighting for our fundamental rights and ready to take the bold action needed to safeguard our freedom to make our own decisions about pregnancy, free from political interference. With the Supreme Court’s anti-choice supermajority poised to end Roe v. Wade this year, we need representatives in Congress who represent the values of the majority now more than ever. We know that these outstanding future leaders will fight back against attacks on abortion access and help us build a future where reproductive freedom is a reality for all of us.”
State Representative Christina Bohannan released the following statement:
“With state laws banning abortion and a Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, it has never been more important to elect pro-choice candidates to office. As a strong advocate for reproductive freedom for all, I am grateful for NARAL’s endorsement and support. In the Iowa statehouse, I have spoken out against a state constitutional amendment that would completely eliminate the fundamental right to abortion under Iowa law. With NARAL’s help, I will continue the fight for reproductive freedom in Congress.”
Nikki Budzinski released the following:
“There has never been a more important time to elect pro-choice, Democratic women to Congress. As reproductive freedom is under attack across the country, I’m glad there are partners and allies like NARAL to fight back. I am thrilled to have their support and look forward to working with them in Congress.”
Jackie Gordon released the following statement:
“I’m honored to have earned NARAL’s endorsement. In Congress, I’ll fight tooth and nail to stop Republicans from rolling back the clock on a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and will fight to protect access to family planning that is both safe and affordable.”
These endorsements come as NARAL Pro-Choice America is ramping up our work to elect candidates up and down the ballot during a critical moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. In the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case about Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade. If Roe falls, 28 states—including Iowa—are likely to take action to prohibit abortion outright. Of those, 12 states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically. As our fundamental rights face unprecedented threats in states across the country, it has never been more important to elect candidates like Bohannan, Budzinski, and Gordon who will fight to protect and advance reproductive freedom in Congress.
Reproductive freedom is currently in a state of emergency. As the Supreme Court prepares to hand down a decision in the Jackson Women’s Health case, the anti-choice movement believes the end of Roe is on the horizon, and anti-choice lawmakers are going to unprecedented lengths to undermine access to abortion care. A wave of anti-choice legislation is moving across the country, including attacks on medication abortion care, 15-week bans, and copycat bans modeled after Texas’ vigilante-enforced ban on abortion at six weeks (SB 8), which is before many people know they are pregnant. The people hurt most by abortion restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing abortion care—including women; Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; those working to make ends meet; LGBTQ+ people; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
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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, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—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.