(Washington, DC) Today, The Atlantic reported a statement by DCCC spokeswoman Meredith Kelly that “The DCCC has no interest in working with Democrats for Life of America.” Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser released the following comment in response:
Spokeswoman Meredith Kelly’s statement that the DCCC flatly refuses to work with Democrats for Life contradicts the comments previously made by her boss, Rep. Luján. It is further evidence that Democratic Party leaders are likely stringing pro-lifers along, using them for their votes without intending to back away from their extreme position on abortion.
The Democratic Party cannot wave this deepening crisis away with facile platitudes. One-third of rank-and-file Democrats consider themselves pro-life. An even greater number of Democrats support banning late-term abortion after twenty weeks and oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. SBA List already has canvassers on the ground in Ohio and Florida, reaching out to low-turnout pro-life voters, including persuadable Democrats and Hispanics, educating them about the candidates’ position on abortion. Party leaders and vulnerable Democrat Senators up for re-election in 2018, take note: slamming the door in these voters’ faces is how elections are lost.
DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján has faced backlash from abortion activists over his recent assertion that there will be no “litmus test” on abortion for the Democratic Party. The latest prominent Democrat to voice support for allowing pro-life Democrat candidates to run is California Governor Jerry Brown, who stated on Meet the Pressthat there should be no litmus test.
Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, knocking on more than 1.1 million doors in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 465,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.