Pelosi says pro-life laws show ‘lack of respect’ for women

Washington D.C., May 23, 2019 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has condemned the recent passage of pro-life laws in several states and accused pro-life lawmakers of being afraid of women.

“This is about lack of respect for women,” said Pelosi on Wednesday while speaking at a event for the Center for American Progress.

“This is about some fear that is in our community, our society about women having the ability to have the size and timing of their families working with their husbands, with their doctors, with their God whatever it is, but to just see it as a choice issue is one piece of it.”

Pelosi, who describes herself as a “practicing and respectful Catholic,” also accused the lawmakers of disrespecting women by failing to pass equal pay or family medical leave policies, and targeting birth control and in-vitro fertilization. She said the language used by pro-life lawmakers was untruthful.

“This is about family planning. It’s about birth control,” she said.

“They like to argue the case in some words that aren’t true but are alarming to people about abortions that must take place in the late term, the health of the mother whatever, but they describe it terribly, and it has a market. That’s why they do it. What woman should know is this is not about just that. It’s about family planning, and access to women’s health, it’s about in vitro fertilization to have babies.”

The Catholic Church is opposed to both birth control as well as in-vitro fertilization.

Pelosi also decried the discharge petition effort for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act currently on the House floor, saying it was a bunch of “guys, guys, guys, just white guys, guys signing for their discharge petition in a way that doesn’t represent the truth of what they are putting down there.”

The discharge petition has been signed by nearly every Republican representative, as well as three Democrat representatives. Eighteen more signatures are required before the bill can be heard.

The Born Alive bill does not impact abortion access, but would penalize doctors who do not perform appropriate care to infants who are born alive after an abortion procedure.

Pelosi’s comments follow a growing number of Democrats who have made prominent defences of abortion in recent days. Former Vice President Joe Biden, and Mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg, who are both running for president, recently affirmed their support for the right to terminate a pregnancy.

Biden said that he would support federal legislation to enshrine access to abortion, and Buttigieg chastised men for not doing more to fight for abortion rights. Both Biden and Buttigieg were baptized Catholic, although Buttigieg now attends an Episcopalian church.

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), one of the few remaining pro-life Democrats in Congress, is facing a second successive primary challenege. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), canceled a fundraiser for Lipinski amid speculation she was pulling support in response to Lipinski’s support for life issues.

“I’m proud to have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and I’m deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating attacks on women’s access to reproductive care in several states,” said Bustos in a statement, although she did not specifically cite this reason for why the fundraiser was canceled.

Last year, the DCCC declined to endorse Lipinski until it was pointed out that their bylaws required they support incumbent candidates.

Lipinski’s challenger, Marie Newman, is a strong supporter of abortion rights.