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Elizabeth Warren on Abortion

Massachusetts Senator; former head of CFPB; Dem. Presidential Challenger

 


We need access to abortion, to contraception, to IVF

We need three things. We need access to abortion. We need access to contraception, and we need access to IVF. The Republicans have blocked all three. They have laid out their plan to say they're not going to permit women to have those three, and have access to them. The Democrats are fully on board. If we have the trifecta, the House, the Senate, and the White House, they're we are going to make Roe versus Wade law of the land again.
Source: ABC This Week on 2024 Massachusetts Senate race , Jun 23, 2024

We have never left individual rights to the states

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): I anticipate there will be more debate and discussion. What was interesting about the Supreme Court decision is that it gave the authority back to the states to make these decisions. So, now that this decision has been made, it will be up to each of the states and the state legislatures and the people there to talk to their elected representatives about what their laws look like closer to home.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Look, what she's really saying is that when this decision is made, it should be made by the government. That the government should move in and the government should determine whether or not a pregnancy is forced to continue or whether or not a pregnancy can be terminated. We have never left individual rights to the states. The whole idea is that women are not second-class citizens. And the government is not the one that will decide about the continuation of a pregnancy.

Source: ABC This Week on 2024 Presidential Hopefuls , Jun 26, 2022

The role of government on abortion is to back out

I know that these are very hard personal decisions. I think the role of the government here is to back out. I think a women makes a decision with her family, her priest, her doctor, -the people the woman chooses-and I think that's what respects all of us the most.

I don't think any woman makes the decision to terminate a pregnancy lightly. For some, the answer may be automatic, as it clearly was for the mother I met in Indiana whose daughter had been raped. For others the choice may be agonizing. And for nearly every other woman, the decision to have the pregnancy or end it has a life altering impact.

Women who seek abortions are as varied as all of us. I heard the stories everywhere--in my faculty office, my Senate office, on the campaign trail. I talked with a woman with three children who could not support a fourth. A woman whose partner had left her. A woman about to accept her commission into the Army. A woman battling addiction. A woman with a severely damaged fetus.

Source: Persist, by Elizabeth Warren, p.222 , May 4, 2021

National law to protect the right of a woman's choice

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was looking to regain frontrunner status in New Hampshire, scored some of the loudest cheers of the night when she called for "a national law to protect the right of a woman's choice" to have an abortion.
Source: CNBC.com excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate , Feb 8, 2020

Illegal abortions mean only poor women can't get them

Abortion rights are human rights. They are also economic rights. Protecting the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body is what we stand for as a Democratic Party. When someone makes abortion illegal in America, rich women will still get abortions. It's going to fall hard on poor women. When it comes down to that decision, the one entity that should not be in the middle of that decision is the government.
Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta , Nov 20, 2019

Americans support Roe, Congress should be able to pass

I lived in an America where abortion was illegal. Rich women still got abortions because they could travel to places where it was legal. The people who are denied access to abortion are the poor, are the young, are 14-year-olds who were molested by a family member. We now have support across this country. Three out of four Americans believe in the rule of Roe versus Wade. When you've got three out of four Americans supporting it we should be able to get that passed through Congress.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate , Oct 15, 2019

Legal abortions are safer than tonsillectomies

Did Sen. Elizabeth Warren once say: "Having an abortion is no different than someone having their tonsils removed." FALSE.

Warren became the subject of increased scrutiny and rhetorical attacks from the right in January 2019, after she declared she was in the running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Against that background, a viral meme re-emerged on social media:

In reality, Warren did not make these remarks. Warren was making a point about the relative safety of the procedure: On 24 July 2018, in Marie Claire magazine, Warren wrote: "When abortions are illegal, women don't stop getting them--they just risk their lives to do it. Today, thanks to Roe, getting an abortion is safer than getting your tonsils out. Before Roe v. Wade, many women turned to back-alley butchers to end their pregnancies."

Source: Snopes.com FactCheck on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls , Jan 30, 2019

No bankruptcy for pro-life groups to avoid court levies

A handful of pro-choice groups had won some big lawsuits against a few super-aggressive clinic protesters. The judgments levied by the courts against the protesters added up to more than $1 million, but the victories by the pro-choice groups evaporated when the protesters filed for bankruptcy and dumped the court orders to pay. A fight erupted over whether this was a fair use of bankruptcy. Pro-life advocates argued that it was, but Sen. Schumer pushed back hard, adding an amendment to the Senate version of the bankruptcy bill that would block such actions. His amendment inflicted chaos on the credit industry's well-laid plans.

When the House and Senate bills went to conference, negotiators worked out a compromise.

So we had won, at least for another day. The victory was the result of some pretty tangled politics, but the families who needed bankruptcy protection were safe behind our sandbag for a little while longer.

Source: A Fighting Chance, by Elizabeth Warren, p. 67 , Apr 22, 2014

No Supreme Court nominees who oppose legal abortion

Warren tried to portray Brown as unreliable on women's issues. Warren said she would not vote to support a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who opposes legal abortion. She criticized Brown for opposing the nomination of Elena Kagan to the court.

Brown described himself as "pro-choice" and said he opposed Kagan because she didn't have enough courtroom experience for the high court. "Sorry I didn't vote for your boss," Brown said, referring to Kagan's tenure as dean of Harvard Law School. Warren pointed to a Brown vote in favor of a proposed amendment that would allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control. Brown said he supports women's access to birth control but was trying to protect the concerns of Roman Catholics.

Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate , Sep 21, 2012

Staunch Pro-Abortion stance

Numerous liberal groups have launched "Draft Elizabeth Warren" efforts to encourage a full-fledged Senate campaign. These groups support her in part because of her staunchly pro-abortion stance and her support for Obamacare.
Source: Life News, "Abortion Backers Push Warren" , Aug 22, 2011

Supports public abortion funding.

Warren supports the CC Voters Guide question on abortion funding

Christian Coalition publishes a number of special voter educational materials including the Christian Coalition Voter Guides, which provide voters with critical information about where candidates stand on important faith and family issues. The Christian Coalition Voters Guide summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Public funding of abortions"

Source: Christian Coalition Voter Guide 12-CC-q1a on Oct 31, 2012

Supports churches providing birth control.

Warren supports the CC Voters Guide question on churches and contraception

Christian Coalition publishes a number of special voter educational materials including the Christian Coalition Voter Guides, which provide voters with critical information about where candidates stand on important faith and family issues. The Christian Coalition Voters Guide summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Requiring religious groups to cover birth control & abortion in insurance"

Source: Christian Coalition Voter Guide 12-CC-q1d on Oct 31, 2012

Ban anti-abortion limitations on abortion services.

Warren co-sponsored Women's Health Protection Act

Congressional summary:: Women`s Health Protection Act: makes the following limitations concerning abortion services unlawful and prohibits their imposition or application by any government:

Opponent`s argument against (Live Action News): This is Roe v. Wade on steroids. The bill is problematic from the very beginning. Its first finding addresses `women`s ability to participate equally`; many have rejected this claim that women need abortion in order to be equal to men, or that they need to be like men at all. The sponsors of this pro-abortion bill also seem to feel that pro-life bills have had their time in this country, and that we must now turn back to abortion. The bill also demonstrates that its proponents have likely not even bothered attempting to understand the laws they are seeking to undo, considering that such laws are in place to regulate abortion in order to make it safer. Those who feel that abortion is best left up for the states to decide will also find this bill problematic with its overreach. Sadly, the bill also uses the Fourteenth Amendment to justify abortion, as the Supreme Court did, even though in actuality it would make much more sense to protect the lives of unborn Americans.

Source: H.R.3471 & S.1696 14-S1696 on Nov 13, 2013

Access safe, legal abortion without restrictions.

Warren co-sponsored S.217 & H.R.448

Congressional Summary: Congress finds the following:

Opponents reasons for voting NAY:(National Review, July 17, 2014): During hearings on S. 1696, Senators heard many myths from abortion proponents about the `need` for the bill`s evisceration of all life-affirming legislation.

Source: Women's Health Protection Act 15_S217 on Jan 21, 2015

Keep federal funding for family planning clinics.

Warren signed keeping federal funding for family planning clinics

Excerpts from Letter to the Senate Majority Leader from 46 Senators: The recent vote in the House to overturn rules protecting Title X health centers would deny women access to care. In 2015, Title X provided basic primary and preventive health care services such as pap tests, breast exams, and HIV testing to more than four million low-income women and men at over 4,000 health centers. In large part due to this work, the US unintended pregnancy rate is at a 30-year low, and rates of teenage pregnancy are the lowest in our nation`s history. The success of the program is dependent on funding. Family planning services, like those provided at Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers, should be available to all women, no matter where they live or how much money they make.

Opposing argument: (Heritage Foundation, `Disentangling the Data`): Planned Parenthood received approximately $60 million of taxpayer money under Title X, and $390 million through Medicaid. To ensure that taxpayers are not forced to subsidize America`s number one abortion provider, Congress should make Planned Parenthood affiliates ineligible to receive either Medicaid reimbursements or Title X grants if they continue to perform abortions. Taxpayer money from these programs should instead be redirected to the more than 9,000 federally qualified health center sites that provide comprehensive primary health care for those in need without entanglement in abortion.

Supporting argument: (ACLU, `Urging Title X`): Title X services help women & men to plan the number and timing of their pregnancies, thereby helping to prevent approximately one million unintended pregnancies, nearly half of which would end in abortion. However, current funding is inadequate. Had Title X funding kept up with inflation it would now be funded at nearly $700 million. We ask that Title X be funded at $375 million, which is $92 million above its current funding level.

Source: Letter to the Senate Majority Leader from 46 Senators 17LTR-TITX on Mar 1, 2017

Endorsed Endorsed by EMILY's list for pro-choice Democratic women.

Warren is endorsed by Congressional endorsement list

Our immediate focus is to protect our gains from 2008 and make sure President Obama has strong Democratic majorities in Congress. Its name? EMILY`s List--an acronym for `Early Money Is Like Yeast` (because it makes the dough--campaign funds--rise).
Source: 2010 Congressional endorsement list 2010-EML on Sep 1, 2010

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