Emily’s List: Barbara Comstock Still Voting for Trump Ticket

Courtesy of Emily’s List:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA-10) is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress, so in the last few weeks of the election, she’s decided to run for the hills from Donald Trump. The only problem? She’s still voting for his radical, anti-woman agenda by supporting Trump’s running mate Mike Pence.

“Barbara Comstock’s political move to denounce Trump is exactly that — political. By saying that she’d support Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, she’s continuing to condone Trump’s radical, anti-woman, misogynistic agenda,” said Rachel Thomas, EMILY’s List’s national press secretary. “The only difference between Trump and Pence when it comes to their agendas is that Pence has actually been in elected office to implement it. From targeting Planned Parenthood as governor of Indiana to wanting to redefine rape while he was in Congress, Mike Pence is one of the worst when it comes to holding women in this country back.”

“It’s clear that Barbara Comstock is only trying to salvage her reelection bid. If she was really looking out for Virginia women, she would have denounced the Trump-Pence ticket long ago and wouldn’t support someone who has tried at every chance to roll the clock back on women’s opportunities.”

Just a reminder of where Pence stands when it comes to women and families:

Said He Wanted to Overturn Roe v. Wade: “And make no mistake about it; I believe the future of conservatism begins with a commitment to the unalienable right to life. Without the right to life there is no right to liberty or property. Our party must be willing to stand for the unborn and commit to appointing justices to the Supreme Court who will consign Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history.” [2008 Pence CPAC Speech, 6/02/08]

Said He’ll Sign Any Pro-Life Bill. “Let me be very clear on this, I’m pro-life. If the Legislature sends me pro-life legislation, I’ll sign it.” [AP, 8/26/12]

• Signed an Omnibus Anti-Choice Bill. “Indiana’s governor signed a bill on Thursday that adds broad limits to women’s access to abortions, banning those motivated solely by the mother’s objection to the fetus’s race, gender or disability, and placing new restrictions on doctors […] The bill is among several limiting abortion that have passed conservative legislatures in recent years, but the sheer number of restrictions in Indiana’s legislation made it distinct. In addition to holding doctors liable if a woman has an abortion solely because of objections to the fetus’s race, sex or a disability, like Down syndrome, the law restricts fetal tissue donation and requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital or to have an agreement with a doctor who does.” [New York Times, 3/25/16]
• Indiana Republicans Even  Said the Legislation Was Too Far-Reaching. “Even some anti-abortion lawmakers thought the legislation was a step too far: ‘Several state lawmakers including Republicans who have authored anti-abortion legislation in the past, argued vehemently against it. They said the measure, which bans abortions performed because of a fetus’s characteristics, demeans women and lacks compassion. One lawmaker said it signals a return to the time of backroom abortions. Doctors urged the governor to veto the bill, warning that patients could feel pressure to lie to their doctors.’” [NPR, 3/25/16]

Supported a Federal Ban on Abortions after 20 Weeks. “Gov. Mike Pence and a group of other possible Republican presidential contenders have thrown their support behind a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.” [Indianapolis Star, 9/17/14]

Supported Federal Personhood Legislation. Pence was a cosponsor of HR 374, the “Life at Conception Act.” [HR 374, 1/20/11]

• …Refused to Say He’d Veto State Personhood Legislation in Indiana. When asked if he would sign a bill that granted “personhood” to a fetuses, Pence responded, “Let me say as governor of Indiana I believe in the independence and the right of legislators to offer legislation. We won’t prejudge legislation or make any determination about legislation until it would reach our desk.” [Indianapolis Star, 11/18/12]

Helped Introduce the “Let Women Die Act.” In January 2011, Pence served as an original cosponsor on the “Protect Life Act,” which Democrats referred to as the “Let Women Die Act.” “After an emotional floor debate, the House of Representatives on Thursday passed the so-called Protect Life Act, which prohibits women from buying health insurance plans that cover abortion under the Affordable Care Act and makes it legal for hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women with life-threatening conditions.” [HR 358, introduced 1/20/11; Huffington Post,10/13/11; Rewire, 10/13/11]

Signed Discriminatory “Religious Freedom” Bill into Law. “Indiana’s original Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which [Indiana Governor Mike Pence] signed last week, would have allowed any individual or corporation to cite religious beliefs as a defense when sued by a private party. But the law was written so broadly that many businesses and LGBT advocates said they worried it would open the door to widespread discrimination […] The revised law explicitly bars a business from denying services to someone on the basis of categories that include sexual orientation and gender identity.” [Huffington Post, 3/26/15]

• Law Led to Loss of 1,000 Jobs and Nearly Immediately Meant a $40 Million Hit to the State’s Economy. “The continuing blowback over Indiana’s new “religious freedom” law hit home Saturday, with Indianapolis-based Angie’s List announcing it is canceling a $40 million headquarters expansion. The decision is a direct result of passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, co-founder and chief executive officer Bill Oesterle said Saturday. The proposed expansion of the online consumer ratings service was touted to add 1,000 good-paying jobs over five years and help revitalize a struggling Eastside neighborhood.” [Indianapolis Star, 3/28/15]
• Indianapolis Alone Lost $60 Million in Revenue from RFRA Blowback. “‘Since April 2015, Indianapolis has lost more than $60 million in future convention business as a result of the RFRA controversy,’ says Chris Gahl, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Visit Indy, the capital city’s convention and visitors’ bureau […] After the law passed on March 26, 2015, reaction was swift, strong and negative, with cancellations of planned events and business expansions, travel bans and denunciations from across the spectrum: companies including Salesforce, Apple, Eli Lilly and Angie’s List; sports leagues including the NCAA, NBA and WNBA; states and municipalities coast to coast; rock concerts; comedy shows and church groups […] ‘Anytime a convention doesn’t pick our city, we ask for feedback,’ Gahl says. ‘To date, proactively, 12 different meeting decision makers have cited RFRA as a reason they didn’t select Indy their host city.’” [Forbes, 1/31/16]

Under Pence’s Leadership, an HIV Outbreak Rocked a Small Town that Had Recently Closed Its Sole HIV Testing Center, a Planned Parenthood. “Scott County, Indiana, the center of an exploding HIV outbreak, has been without an HIV testing center since early 2013, when the sole provider – a Planned Parenthood clinic – was forced to close its doors. The clinic did not offer abortion services. The Scott County clinic and four other Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, all of which provided HIV testing and information, have shuttered since 2011, in large part due to funding cuts to the state’s public health infrastructure.” [Huffington Post, 3/31/15]

Targeted Planned Parenthood: “If Planned Parenthood wants to be involved in providing counseling services and HIV testing, they ought not be in the business of providing abortions […] As long as they aspire to do that, I’ll be after them.” [Politico, 2/16/11]

• Threatened to Shut Down the Government over Planned Parenthood Funding.When asked if he was willing to essentially shut down the government during budget negotiations and funding to Planned Parenthood, Pence said, “Of course I am. I think the American people have begun to learn that the largest abortion provider in the country is also the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X and they want to see that come to an end.” [Daily Kos, 4/08/11]
• Introduced Legislation to Keep Planned Parenthood from Receiving Any Federal Funding. “For three legislative sessions in a row, Pence has introduced legislation that would prevent any entity that provides abortion from receiving funds through Title X, the only federal program dedicated to reproductive health and family planning.” [Politico, 2/16/11]
• Introduced Another Amendment to Defund Planned Parenthood. Pence introduced an amendment to a continuing resolution that would strip Planned Parenthood — and Planned Parenthood alone — of all federal funding. [Politico, 2/16/11]

Cosponsored an Ultrasound Mandate. In 2011, Pence cosponsored the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, a bill “to require abortion providers, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, to perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman, explain the results, display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them, and provide a medical description of the ultrasound images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus and the presence of external members and internal organs, if present and viewable.” [HR 5032, introduced 1/17/08]

Cosponsored a Bill to Redefine Rape. In January 2011, Pence cosponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act, which would redefine a ban on federal funding for abortions to exempt only “forcible rape” and not “rape” generally. Under the language proposed by the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act, rape becomes “forcible rape.” The Washington Post reported that the bill’s critics believed “the modifier could distinguish it from other kinds of sexual assault that are typically recognized as rape, including statutory rape and attacks that occur because of drugs or verbal threats.” [HR 3, 1/20/11; Washington Post, 2/1/11]

Opposed Raising the Minimum Wage. Pence called raising the minimum “excessive,” “one of the most anti-minority, anti-poor laws that we can bring into this Congress,” and “violates fundamental free market economics.” [CSPAN, 12/30/14]

Voted against Equal Pay Legislation Three Times. Pence voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Act. [HR2831, Vote #768, 7/31/07; HR12, Vote #8, 1/09/09; S181, Vote #37, 1/27/09]