Rep. Pramila Jayapal says 'you can't say you're a Democrat' if you're 'against abortion'

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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat representing Washington state’s 7th congressional district, believes that supporting abortion rights should be a requirement to be a member of the Democratic Party. On Friday, Rep. Jayapal stressed that not only should the party have a strong set of ideas that all members support, but that it should explicitly include abortion.

“You can't say you're a Democrat if you're against immigrants, if you're against abortion, if you're against gay marriage, and LGBTQ rights,” Rep. Jayapal said, as reported by The Hill. "I'm not sure what it means to be a Democrat if all of those things are true."

This topic came about because, during a press conference, journalists asked how she felt Democrats should respond to efforts in Republican states to ban abortion. (See: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri...)

"I think the party's response is going to be strong, and hopefully you've seen that it's strong across the board,” she replied. Then she transitioned into talking about party ideals, saying, "Personally, I do think that there should be a set of core Democratic ideals that we all agree to."

What Democrats don’t support abortion rights? Some, though they’re a minority. Most notably (and concerningly) at the moment is probably Louisiana’s governor, John Edwards. Though he’s a Democrat, he’s confirmed that he would sign legislation banning abortion at the six-week mark. For context, this ban has already passed in the Louisiana Senate. The next step (before reaching Edwards) is a vote in their House of Representatives. 

“In eight years in the Legislature, I was a pro-life legislator,” Edwards said, as reported by the Associated Press. “I'm as consistent as I can be on that point."

He says “consistent,” whereas words like “archaic,” “stubborn,” and “narrow-minded” might be more fitting. And that’s putting it gently. After all, there is no legislation around cisgender men’s bodies. There’s absolutely no reason for it to be a norm when it comes to reproductive health, either. 

from Daily Kos http://bit.ly/2JLZFzu