Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Champions and Future Leaders for Reproductive Freedom in Key U.S. House Races in Ohio and Texas
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Nation’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group endorses three U.S. House candidates
Washington, DC—Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its endorsement of three candidates—Ohio State Representative Emilia Sykes, former Austin City Council Member Greg Casar, and Texas community leader Michelle Vallejo—running to represent their respective states in the U.S. House of Representatives.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“With the Supreme Court’s anti-choice supermajority poised to end Roe v. Wade in the coming months, we need representatives in Congress who are ready to take the bold action needed to safeguard abortion access. NARAL Pro-Choice America is proud to endorse Ohio State Rep. Emilia Sykes, a champion for reproductive freedom, and two future leaders for reproductive freedom in Texas—Greg Casar and Michelle Vallejo—for election to the U.S. House. With abortion rights and access under unprecedented threat across the country, we enthusiastically support these dedicated public servants. We know that they will continue to fight for the values of the 8 in 10 Americans who support reproductive freedom.”
State Rep. Emilia Sykes, running to represent Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, released the following statement:
“Reproductive rights are human rights and people must have autonomy over their bodies. With our rights at stake, we must take affirmative action to continue to protect every person’s right to reproductive health care, including abortion. I’m proud to have the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice America who has been leading this critical fight for decades. I look forward to working with them to lower health costs and increase access to reproductive health care as a member of Congress.”
Former Austin Council Member Greg Casar, running to represent Texas’ 35th Congressional District, released the following statement:
“Abortion is essential health care. Texas has virtually banned abortion, and now that ban is spreading across the country. I’m committed to working alongside NARAL to overturn these bans in Congress, and to make sure every single American family has the right to abortion care. Period.”
Michelle Vallejo, a Texas community leader and entrepreneur running to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District, released the following statement:
“A woman’s right to choose and to do so with dignity has been at the forefront of my platform. I am so proud to receive the NARAL endorsement, whose advocacy for reaffirming and preserving reproductive rights is critical to Texas and the Nation. I am ready to carry the mantle of so many women before me and lead the fight for women’s rights as the next and first congresswoman from Texas 15, ¡Vamos Por Quince!”
These NARAL-endorsed candidates bring a wealth of experience and strong commitments to protect and advance reproductive freedom in Congress. State Rep. Emilia Sykes has represented Ohio’s House District 34 since 2015. She has consistently voted to protect access to abortion for Ohioans–earning a 100% rating from Pro-Choice Ohio and EMILY’s List Rising Star Award in 2020. Greg Casar, who most recently served on the Austin City Council, is a staunch supporter of reproductive freedom, as demonstrated through his vocal opposition to Texas’ vigilante-enforced ban on abortion (SB 8) and his efforts to help Texans access abortion care through funding for travel and childcare. Michelle Vallejo, a Texas community leader and entrepreneur, is a fierce advocate for women’s economic empowerment, immigrant rights, and reproductive freedom for all.
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 both Ohio and Texas—are likely to take action to prohibit abortion outright. Of those, 13 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 Sykes, Casar, and Vallejo who will fight to protect and advance reproductive freedom in Congress.
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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.