Statement by National Organization for Women President Toni Van Pelt:

Washington, D.C. — Today the U.S. House of Representatives took a stand for LGBTQIA rights by voting to provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections across many areas, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally-funded programs and jury service.

The National Organization for Women applauds the passage of The Equality Act (HR 5), which would ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity are covered under federal civil rights laws. We thank the bill’s sponsor Rep. David Cicilline, (D-R.I.), and all of the members who voted in favor of the legislation.

Currently, this country has no explicit protections at the federal level on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity when it comes to public accommodations, and for many federally-funded programs, because there are no federal sex discrimination protections in these areas. This Act would remedy that fact by providing explicit non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Now we demand that the Senate pick up the mantle and ensure that sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity are among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation under law.

It is far past time for Congress to enact such protections for the LGBTQIA+ community and The Equality Act must become law in this legislative session.

Contact

Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate took another step today to aid and abet Donald Trump’s radical anti-abortion agenda by voting to confirm Wendy Vitter to a lifetime position on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Trump doesn’t believe in the separation of powers or care about the rule of law.   He only wants to populate the government and the courts with sycophants and ideologues who will do his bidding, shred the Constitution and reverse decades of protections for women’s health.

Wendy Vitter has been one of the extremist anti-choice lobby’s most vocal and ambitious advocates—seeking to not only repeal Roe v. Wade but to demonize a woman’s fundamental human right to determine her reproductive life.”

While moderating an anti-abortion panel in 2013, Vitter promoted the junk science theory that abortion is linked to breast cancer and oral contraceptives can cause women to be assaulted and murdered.  She spoke at a rally protesting Planned Parenthood and accused the organization of “killing over 150,000 females a year.”

As General Counsel to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Wendy Vitter has a long record of extreme hostility to reproductive freedom, and now she will be able to impose that radical agenda on court decisions that will cause irreparable harm to women.

NOW calls on the Senate to take back the blank check it gave to Donald Trump when it comes to judicial nominations, and stop confirming narrow-minded extremists like Wendy Vitter.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Washington, D.C. — The dangerous bill moving through Alabama’s legislature to ban abortion is a direct violation of Roe vs. Wade. This unconstitutional measure would send women in the state back to the dark days of policymakers having control over their bodies, health, and lives.

NOW firmly believes that women have the constitutional right to safe, legal, affordable and accessible abortion care and we strongly oppose this bill and the other egregious pieces of legislation that extremist lawmakers are trying to pass in what they claim is an attempt to force the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. This is a transparent effort to drum up political support for anti-abortion candidates in upcoming elections and serves as a direct threat to women’s health, autonomy, and pursuit of happiness. We will not let it stand.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745