FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2016
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Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue energized members campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Concord, New Hampshire, at an event hosted by NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Hillary Clinton spoke at the event on the historic decision for reproductive freedom and the importance of continuing to fight to ensure that the rights of every woman are respected.
Photos here: http://nar.al/hillarynh
Since their endorsement, NARAL Pro-Choice America—with one million member activists fighting for reproductive freedom—has been mobilizing voters to campaign for Hillary Clinton, a champion for all. NARAL Pro-Choice America staff and volunteers will be using tested methodology to get reproductive rights voters to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States. NARAL Pro-Choice America sent mailers to New Hampshire voters stating “When we’re just starting out. When we’re with our families. When we want to be treated fairly. Hillary is the Champion we need in the White House.”
View NH mail pieces here: http://nar.al/mailnh
Addressing the crowd, Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said:
“The stakes in this election are too high. We’ve got a Supreme Court case in June—Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt—that will determine whether or not a woman is able to access healthcare for generations to come. We’ve got anti-choice legislation and trends popping up all over the country. And we still have the Hyde Amendment in place to the detriment of countless low-income women in America who can’t access abortion care because of it.
“Thankfully, Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to voice her opposition to the Hyde Amendment, and she isn’t afraid to call out the deceptive, anti-choice legislative tactics we’re seeing across the country. She’s vocal, she’s the most experienced person in this election, and she knows how to get things done. And of course, she understands that women and children have to be central to any policy agenda.”
Hillary Clinton took the stage and stated:
“All women deserve to have their rights respected. All women deserve to have access to the health services and choices they are entitled to. It should not be that some who are fortunate economically can access their rights while all others are left behind.”
Clinton continued:
“Ilyse is right, we all need a champion in the White House. And not just someone who says the right things, but someone who does them as well. Who will stand up to each and every attack. And who will do everything she can. We need somebody in the Oval Office who really understands that NARAL and Planned Parenthood are not part of the ‘establishment.’ So I’m grateful to have your support in this election and I am looking forward to waging this campaign with all of you. I was telling Ilyse that I loved seeing people at my rallies that they’ve been showing up in Iowa, wearing the t-shirts, wearing the buttons, making it clear that they are proud to stand for reproductive rights and proud to stand for women.”
Full remarks by Ilyse Hogue, as prepared for delivery:
Concord, NH
January 22, 2016
Thank you so much for that warm introduction, Susan, and thank you all for being here today.
There is truly no other place I’d rather be on a Friday night than with you all. You’ve been working your tails off over the last few weeks and months here in New Hampshire to make sure our next President of the United States is Hillary Clinton, and we’re thrilled to throw the weight of our national organization and our 14,000 New Hampshire members into that effort!
You all know what’s at stake and you know that 2016 is no ordinary year. You’ve seen extremists try to close down health care facilities by any means necessary–with deceptive legislation, budget cuts, hateful rhetoric, harassment and even acts of domestic terrorism.
As a new mom, there’s nothing I want more than for my kids to grow up in a country where their rights are protected, and they feel empowered to make their own decisions about their lives.
That’s what we are fighting for at NARAL Pro-Choice America. We’re fighting to make sure our country is one where a woman feels empowered to make decisions about her life without anyone—especially a politician with a 1950s ideology—getting in the way.
Lots of people understand that, and most people agree—seventy percent, in fact, as we know from recent polling.
So when we, as an organization, started to have discussions about how to have the greatest impact for reproductive freedom in 2016, we decided that there is too much at stake in this election to simply throw our support behind an “ally.” For us, being an ally wasn’t enough for an endorsement from NARAL as we watch our fundamental rights erode and when we have an unprecedented opportunity to move into the future with women and families at the center of the political debate and the policy agenda.
To fight back against those who would drag us into the past, to be fully ready to leverage the promise of the future, what we need is a “champion.”
A champion in the White House who knows how to effectively combat virulent anti-choice rhetoric from the GOP, appoint Supreme Court justices in the next term who could preserve our rights and freedoms, and influence a myriad of state and federal laws that impose extreme ideology on Americans’ personal decisions about when and how to grow our families.
When we sat down with the candidates, what became clear immediately is that Hillary is THAT “champion.”
She’s that “champion” for three key reasons.
ONE: She gets it. She’s a woman and a mom herself and throughout her entire career she has seen the awful consequences on women and families when we don’t empower women. She’s seen it globally as Secretary of State, and she’s seen it locally. She understands that when you prioritize women and girls, everyone wins. And perhaps most importantly, she understands that a woman cannot have full autonomy over her own life if she does not have access to reproductive health care – especially abortion care. She understands that if you leave access to abortion out of the fight for women’s rights and this conversation, you’re shortchanging women and their families from getting the life they want and deserve.
TWO: She cares. I’ll share a personal story. When we sat down with her, we were on her schedule for 40 minutes. An hour and a half later, she was still asking the most detailed, thoughtful questions, getting deep into the policy, and really wanted to learn from us and understand our perspective so we could partner together to empower women and families.
And THREE: She understands, like NARAL, that “silence is surrender.” For too long, too many in this country have been silent about the need for full access to a safe and legal abortion – and the importance of making sure all women, regardless of income level or zipcode, can access that fundamental right. Silent support in the face of extreme opposition has led us to the crisis women now face in our country, where far too many women cannot access abortion when they need it. Abortion access has never been Hillary Clinton’s sole or even signature issue—her concerns and expertise range far too widely for that. But she has never left it out, never shied away from talking about it, because she knows that’s a sure way to lose a right we can’t afford to sacrifice.
My friends, Hillary Clinton is our champion and we need her in the White House.
The stakes in this election are too high. We’ve got a Supreme Court case in June – “Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole” – that will determine whether or not a woman is able to access healthcare for generations to come.
We’ve got anti-choice legislation and trends popping up all over the country. And we still have the Hyde Amendment in place to the detriment of countless low-income women in America who can’t access abortion care because of it.
Thankfully Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to voice her opposition to the Hyde Amendment, and she isn’t afraid to call out the deceptive, anti-choice legislative tactics we’re seeing across the country.
She’s vocal, she’s the most experienced person in this election, and she knows how to get things done. And of course, she understands that women and children have to be central to any policy agenda.
And you know what? If that’s playing the gender card – deal me in!
Thank you so much for being here today and let’s keep working hard so we can be sure Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States!
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