For Immediate Release: October 17, 2019
Contact: [email protected]
NARAL Pro-Choice America will host a Reproductive Freedom Presidential Forum around the anniversary of Roe v Wade, in the second to last week in January, in Des Moines, Iowa. The forum will feature 2020 Democratic presidential candidates discussing their plans to safeguard reproductive rights and stand with women and families on access to abortion and contraception, paid family leave, gender equity, and combatting maternal mortality.
The forum, just two weeks before the critical Iowa caucus, continues NARAL’s significant involvement in the 2020 campaign, as voters continue to view support for abortion rights as key to their support in 2020.
Support for abortion rights is at its highest point in two decades but the threat to these fundamental freedoms has never been more acute. Republican legislatures passed an unprecedented number of abortion bans this past legislative session and the Trump administration is deadset on reversing decades of process and ending Roe v. Wade.
The NARAL Reproductive Freedom Presidential Forum will provide an opportunity for candidates for the Democratic nomination to outline their plans to protect fundamental rights and discuss how they will fight for women and families if elected president.
“We are at a critical juncture in the fight for reproductive freedom in America. While Trump and anti-choice lawmakers work to roll back our fundamental freedoms, NARAL stands with the 7 in 10 Americans who support Roe v. Wade,” said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “We are pleased that the Democratic field stands with us on these critical issues and look forward to bringing candidates together for a rich discussion on how they plan to counter the extreme but vocal minority who wants to roll back progress and champion abortion rights in 2020 and beyond.”
NARAL’s members are already engaging with 2020 Democratic candidates on the campaign trail to make sure that the entire field stands up for reproductive freedom—an issue that is critical for Democratic voters and also a political winner with independents. As part of this focus on 2020, NARAL is hosting a series of presidential events — NARAL Presidential Town Halls — with its membership to provide a platform for presidential contenders to engage with voters and outline their concrete plans to protect reproductive freedom for all Americans.
NARAL has held events with Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Kamala Harris, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Julián Castro, and Congressman Tim Ryan along with former candidates Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Governor Jay Inslee as part of the effort to make sure the concerns of women and families are represented in the 2020 conversation. NARAL looks forward to working with even more Democratic presidential candidates as they outline their vision for and commitment to reproductive freedom throughout the rest of the cycle.
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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 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.”