FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2015

CONTACT: Morgan Finkelstein, morgan@vademocrats.org

 

Comstock Added to NRCC Most Vulnerable List One Day After Voting To Invade Women’s Privacy and Health Care Rights

 One-Term Wonder Congresswoman Barbara Comstock found herself added to the NRCC’s most vulnerable members list just one day after voting to invade women’s privacy and their personal health care decisions.

Comstock joined her Republican colleagues to advance their anti-women’s agenda by overruling a common-sense law in the District of Columbia that would protect women from invasive questions and discrimination from their employers based on their personal health care decisions.

After months of trying to hide her true stance on issues important to women, Comstock’s actions have proven that her values are completely out of touch with the women of Northern Virginia.

“If you thought Comstock’s votes for mandatory invasive ultrasounds and personhood amendments were the last of her attacks on women’s reproductive health, yesterday’s vote shows there is no end in sight,” said Meredith Kelly of the DCCC. “It’s clear from the NRCC adding her to their list of vulnerable Republicans that they know she is perilously out of touch with her constituents.”

COMSTOCK VOTED AGAINST DC REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Comstock Voted In Favor Of Resolution Disapproving DC Law Protecting Employees From Discrimination Based On Their Reproductive Health Decisions. [HJ Res 43, Roll Call #194, 4/30/15]

Oversight Committee Approval Marked First Time In More Than 20 Years That Legislation To Overturn DC Law Reached Chamber Floor. “Behind Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the Oversight panel approved the measure 20 to 16 along strict party lines, marking the first time in 23 years that a House committee has sent legislation overturning a D.C. law to the chamber floor.” [The Hill, 4/30/15]

Comstock-Backed Bill Could Allow Employers To Discriminate Against Employees Who Use Birth Control Or Have Abortions After Rape. “Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), senior Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, warned this month that Black’s resolution ‘would permit District employers to fire a woman because she had an abortion after being raped, demote a man because his wife chooses to use a birth control pill, pay an employee less because his or her teenage daughter became pregnant out of wedlock, and impose a host of other penalties based on ideologies that discriminate against certain reproductive health decisions.’ ‘Far be it from me to give Republicans political advice, but this is a new low,’ Cummings said.” [The Hill, 4/30/15]

COMSTOCK HAS CONSISTENTLY OPPOSED REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

Comstock: “I Have Been an Activist in the Pro-Life and Pro-Family Community for 25 Years.” In February 2008 on CNN, Comstock said, “I have been an activist in the pro-life and pro-family community for 25 years.” [CNN Newsroom, 2/04/08]

Voted to Mandate Medically Unnecessary And Invasive Transvaginal Ultrasounds Before Abortion. In 2012, Comstock voted in favor of House Bill 462 and Senate Bill 484 that would amend informed consent law to mandate transvaginal ultrasounds before an abortion. [Washington Post, 2/28/12; HB 462, 2012 Session,3/01/12; SB 484, 2012 Session, 2/22/12]

Voted for Personhood Bill. In February 2012, Comstock voted in favor of House Bill 1 which provided that “unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the commonwealth.” The bill passed 66 to 32. [Washington Post, 2/13/12; HB 1, 2012 Session,2/14/12]

  • ACOG: Personhood Measures “Would Limit Or Eliminate Contraceptive Options.” According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, personhood measures “would limit or eliminate contraceptive options.” They elaborated: “Some of the most effective and reliable forms of contraception—oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, and other forms of FDA-approved contraceptives—could be banned in states that adopt ‘personhood’ measures.” [American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2/20/13]
  • Roanoke Times: HB 1 was “The Foundation for Outlawing Abortions.” In February 2012, a Roanoke Times editorial called HB 1 “the foundation for outlawing abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court reverse Roe v. Wade.” The editorial board wrote that the bill could make criminals of doctors who perform abortions to save the life of the mother and could restrict contraceptive options. “Critics rightly fear the impact of Del. Bob Marshall’s ‘personhood’ bill on women’s health care. Obstetricians are worried that it could make criminals of doctors who perform abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies […] a leading cause of first-trimester maternal deaths,” the Times wrote. The editorial board also said supporters of the bill “dismiss concerns that giving fertilized eggs legal status as persons would open the door to outlawing some forms of contraception. Yet some commonly used methods work by preventing embryos from implanting in the uterus.” [Roanoke Times, Editorial, 2/19/12]

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