Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt

The Democratic party, determined to win back the majority in the House of Representatives at any cost, is throwing its support behind anti-choice candidates. That’s a huge mistake. Reproductive justice is at the heart of women’s health, welfare, safety, and economic security.

This week Rep. Ben Ray Luján, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview that, in order to pick up 24 more seats in the House, Democrats would fund candidates who oppose abortion rights.This marks a painful pivot from the 2016 party platform, which spelled out “that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.”

That platform was driven by smart policy, and smart politics–because it recognizes that progressive abortion policy is central to achieving economic justice. That’s why women, and all progressives, should decry this new posturing–which has Democratic leaders trying to appeal to a mythical group of moderates, by shrugging off reproductive rights as a fringe issue. The truth is this: they’ll never achieve any of their progressive goals, economic or otherwise, if abortion rights get pushed out of the picture.

Most important of all: Democrats can’t risk women’s lives to play this political game. This is even more urgent for marginalized individuals. Women of color, young people, and LGBTQIA+ individuals are hit hardest when abortion access is gutted–and that would almost certainly be the case if the Democrats throw their support behind anti-choice candidates.

I’m calling on grassroots activists across the country to march into their Congressional Democratic offices and make their voices heard, and to to work at the local Democratic party level–as individuals, or with their NOW chapters. NOW has been a proud fighter for abortion rights and reproductive justice for over 50 years. The Democratic party cannot and should not take us for granted. Party leaders must think again, and get it right this time.

Statement of NOW President Terry O’Neill on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

Today, Black women catch up in wages to what white men earned in 2016. It’s a striking annual reminder to pay attention to the economic inequality African-American women face, and how it is–tragically, persistently–driven by both race and gender.

Black women earn just 63 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men, according to the National Women’s Law Center. The disparity holds true regardless of a woman’s education level or profession.

Women across the board are paid less than men for equal work, but African-American women face an even larger wage gap than white women. The American Association for University Women reports that median annual earnings for white women in 2015 were $42,026–significantly more than the $34,426 than African-American women brought home.

This would be bad enough on its own, but Black women’s economic security worsens as this inequality plays out in the real world. Black women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, and underrepresented in high-wage ones. And their lost earning potential over a lifetime is staggering. On average, Black women lose a whopping $840,000 over a 40-year career, all the while sacrificing Social Security and retirement benefits.

Today we must contemplate the critical intersection of racial and economic justice–and how women of color bear the dreadful consequences of this broken system. NOW’s grassroots activists will continue fighting for policies to close the wage gap and achieve economic security for women–and those must include policies to advance racial justice as well.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement of NOW President Terry O’Neill

Women around the country are breathing a sigh of relief today, as Senate Republican leadership’s latest attempt to throw millions off their health insurance, and block women from using Planned Parenthood for their reproductive care, was once again defeated.

Appallingly, Donald Trump responded from the White House with a threatening tweet: “[L]et Obamacare implode, then deal. Watch!”

Indeed, women voters are watching closely. We will hold accountable those politicians who sabotage the Affordable Care Act as well as those who continue trying to repeal it to hand tax cuts to billionaires.

The dark truth is that senators who voted for the “skinny” repeal bill last night were willing to gamble with women’s health and lives, lay them out like chips on a poker table without really knowing what’s coming next. No senator with an ounce of respect for women would take that bet.

And yet so many senators did, even though the stakes are so incredibly high. NOW’s grassroots activists will fight this bill tooth and nail to make sure it never becomes law. And we will do everything in our power to make sure that the senators who gambled on women’s health never serve in elective office again.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Original Publication: Associated Press, July 2, 2017

Associated Press writes: “A long-time feminist activist whose campaign resume noted that she had an illegal abortion in 1968 has been elected as the new president of the National Organization for Women.

Toni Van Pelt, 69, who has been active for decades in NOW’s Florida affiliates, was elected Saturday night at the organization’s national conference in Orlando, Florida. Elected as vice president was her running mate, Gilda Yazzie, a Navajo Indian from Durango, Colorado.”