What was once a shared commitment to providing resources for pregnant women has been replaced by an agenda promoting abortion without limits.
What was once a shared commitment to providing resources for pregnant women has been replaced by an agenda promoting abortion without limits.
V ice President Kamala Harris recently claimed that women are being denied health care during miscarriages due to abortion restrictions. But this narrative is false and misleading. Treatment for miscarriage complications has always been available in hospitals and clinics, regardless of abortion laws.
Even under restrictive laws, health-care providers are legally permitted — and ethically obligated — to provide care for life-threatening pregnancy complications, including miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.
Misrepresenting this reality not only spreads fear but also overlooks the genuine health-care challenges pregnant women face — challenges that demand real solutions beyond abortion access.
This has led to a renewed moment of reflection for me.
Democrats, we’ve shared a long journey, filled with triumphs and challenges. But somewhere along the way, we’ve drifted apart. Now, I think we need a break.
It’s not me — it’s you.
You’ve changed, and it’s time for an honest conversation about where we stand.
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, I heard your stance on abortion loud and clear: It is now the foundation of the Democratic Party.
But what struck me most was what was missing: innovative solutions to support pregnant women who want to keep their babies. Your priorities have shifted, favoring abortion over birth, leaving behind the women who need help the most.
You’ve forgotten that reproductive health care isn’t just about abortion. It’s about supporting women through birth and beyond.
At the DNC, I was disheartened by your silence about a truck offering free abortions outside the convention. This spectacle trivialized the gravity of abortion, reducing it to a convenience.
During the same period, my organization organized a diaper drive to provide essential resources throughout Chicago, including on the South Side, where only one privately funded pregnancy-support center serves women among a sea of state-funded abortion providers.
I listened to the women you’ve been ignoring. They’re women who don’t want abortions. They want support to raise their families.
A 2020 survey by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that 64 percent of women prefer comprehensive policies that support motherhood and family life — such as paid leave and affordable child care — over those focused solely on abortion access.
Unfortunately, 70 percent of abortion clinics are located in minority neighborhoods, offering little choice for financially struggling women.
I became a Democrat in 1988 because the party stood for protecting the vulnerable and giving a voice to the voiceless. This wasn’t just rhetoric. It was the backbone of our policies and actions.
I was proud to work for three Democratic members of Congress, advocating for comprehensive health care, paid family leave, affordable child care, and equal opportunities. These weren’t empty promises but policies that made a tangible difference in people’s lives.
After leaving Capitol Hill, I continued that mission. Lest you doubt my Democratic bona fides, know that I championed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which expanded access to health care and reduced the uninsured rate from 16 percent to 8.6 percent. Pro-life Democrats were instrumental in passing the ACA, ensuring that pregnancy would no longer be treated as a pre-existing condition.
But then, your priorities shifted.
Fewer than two years after passing the bill, you used the ACA as a vehicle to coerce Catholic institutions into providing their employees contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs through their health insurance plans. When the Supreme Court overruled that mandate, you continued on your march for abortion on demand and without limits.
What was once a shared commitment to providing resources for pregnant women has been replaced by an agenda promoting abortion without limits.
Promised reforms remain unfulfilled, leaving rural and inner-city populations without the needed support. Pregnancy-support centers, which offer critical services like ultrasounds, parenting classes, and material aid, are falsely dismissed as “fake clinics” simply because they don’t perform abortions.
I recently returned from Massachusetts, where the state government launched a taxpayer-funded billboard campaign targeting pregnancy centers. The message is unmistakable: The state aims to dismantle organizations that offer women economic and social support, providing alternatives to abortion.
These centers — over 2,700 nationwide — offer women tangible resources to help them choose life, embodying the traditional Democratic value of helping those in need.
We both believe in the value of a strong social safety net. But if that alone were enough to reduce abortion rates, states like California, Maryland, and New Jersey, known for their expansive social programs, would have the lowest abortion rates — not the highest.
What makes the real difference is having a supportive person in a woman’s life, a role that pregnancy centers specialize in providing.
Our shared goal used to be making abortion safe, legal, and rare. I stood alongside President Obama when we worked to achieve that goal. Together, we passed the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, which provided vital support to pregnant women. But even that program has now been defunded.
The Democratic Party I joined 35 years ago believed in the dignity of every human life — from opposing war and capital punishment to protecting the unborn. It was a consistent life ethic that honored the humanity of every person.
We worked for people — not just to win elections. We believed in bipartisanship, finding common ground, and delivering real results.
If we can no longer agree on protecting the most vulnerable members of the human family, then we’ve grown too far apart. I can only hope you’ll remember the principles that once united us — and broaden your vision to be both pro-woman and pro-life.
Imagine a platform that not only defends a woman’s right to choose but also ensures she has the resources to choose life and raise her children with dignity.
Imagine policies that uplift all women, including those striving to raise families under challenging circumstances.
We once held that vision, and it brought us massive majorities in Congress and state legislatures across the country.
Perhaps one day, we’ll return to that vision. But winning back people like me will take more than empty promises — it will require real action. I won’t be fooled again.
Until then, I’ll continue to show, by example, what it means to be a Democrat — holding onto the hope that you’ll remember who we are, and who we once were together.