Kristen Day is executive director of Democrats For Life of America
In January 2020, I went to a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, to ask Pete Buttigieg, then candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, a very important question.
“Is there room for people like me in the Democratic Party?”
This was at the height of elementary school, and pro-life Democrats, like me, were looking for a candidate who would support pro-life votes.
We had already lost then-leader Joe Biden.
Just a day after reaffirming his support for the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for most abortions, he caved under pressure and said he opposed it.
Author Kristen Day addresses the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee on August 15, 2020
Pro-life Democrats were left without anyone wanting their vote after years of watching our party steadily drift away from us.
President Bill Clinton said abortions should be “safe, legal and infrequent.”
But then, in 2012, the Democratic Party dropped the word “rare” from their discussion of abortion on the official party platform.
President Barack Obama has rallied Democrats around the goal of reducing abortions.
But then, in 2016, the party officially welcomed the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
Hillary Clinton pushed the party even further by supporting women’s right to an abortion up to the ninth month of pregnancy.
And unfortunately that night in Iowa, Mayor Pete made it clear that the pro-life Democrats no longer had allies on the debate stage.
“In 1996 and a few years later, on the democratic platform, it was said that we understand that people have different views on this issue, but we are a big-tent, inclusive party,” I told him that evening. “Would you be open to such language on the Democratic platform that really says our party is diverse and inclusive and that’s what we all want?”
In short, his answer was “no”.
“The best I can offer is that we may not agree on this very important issue and hopefully we can work together on other issues,” he said.
Now, amid the nationwide uproar over a leaked draft Supreme Court advisory suggesting constitutional abortion rights could be overturned, 20 million pro-life Democrats are being ignored.
But with the Democratic Party seemingly facing crushing losses in the 2022 midterm elections and possibly beyond, pro-life Democrats are wondering: Is this really the time to shrink the tent again?
This week, President Biden equated anyone who supported Roe’s ouster with MAGA extremists.
Really Mr. President?
As a long-time activist in the pro-life movement, I have worked with a broad coalition of pro-lifers, including libertarians and independents, religious and secular, brown, white, gay, straight, young and old.
The coalition is broad and a majority would not describe themselves as supporters of MAGA.
Kristen Day and Hayden Laye, President of South Carolina Dems for Life and a member of the Young Pro-Life Democrats (YPLD), gather before the Supreme Court on May 3, 2022
I went to a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, to ask Pete Buttigieg, then candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, a very important question. “Is there room for people like me in the Democratic Party?” (Above) Buttigieg is interviewed by host Chris Wallace on January 26, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa.
We are united in our mission to protect unborn life and to give every pregnant woman the opportunity and support to bring new life into the world.
We want the government (and society in general) to support not only pregnant women and their unborn babies, but also mothers and their babies after birth.
We want government to provide financial support to fathers, mothers and single people so they can start families while pursuing meaningful and rewarding work and careers.
We are committed to universal access to health care so that people do not have to choose between life and death, between food and medicine.
We strive to end the death penalty and the quasi-cultural death penalty for convicted felons who have served their sentences but are being prevented from rejoining society.
Above all, pro-life Democrats want this important issue to be put back in the hands of the people and not in the hands of an unelected panel of judges.
We want our society to move beyond this divisive struggle and finally focus on helping women experiencing unplanned pregnancies.
But President Biden’s recent actions and DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison’s recent refusal to meet with elected pro-life Democrats have left the Democratic family more divided and more inhospitable to pro-life voices.
It’s not just bad politics, it’s bad politics.
When Biden was US Senator, there were 125 pro-life Democrats in the US House of Representatives, and we had a robust 292-seat majority.
The numbers have dwindled as major political parties began to take clearer positions for and against protecting preterm infants.
A decade ago, West Virginia Democrats had a robust majority that included 79 Democratic state delegates compared to just 21 Republican members.
The West Virginia Senate had a Democratic majority with 28 Democrats and only six Republicans.
Today, those numbers are inverted, with Republicans making massive gains in the state.
For the first time in history, West Virginia has more registered Republicans than registered Democrats.
In the last election cycle, eleven counties switched from blue to red.
West Virginia isn’t the only state with these kinds of big changes.
The number of Republican supermajorities in state legislatures is growing as pro-life Democrats are ousted and Republicans are recruited with a big-tent marketing strategy.
Last month, a chairman of the pro-life Democratic Committee joined the Republican Party after a New Jersey Democratic country committee attempted to oust him from his duly elected office.
Another pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment Democrat in Tennessee changed his party affiliation to the Independent.
Now is not the time to shut out and alienate Democratic allies.
Author Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America
With this week’s news about Roe v. Wade, we need to find common ground and find solutions that address the concerns and needs of women and children during and after pregnancy.
Democrats helped build social safety nets. Now we must move and work together to expand it.
Women deserve better than abortion. That means better education, better information, better resources, and better social safety nets. Pro-life Democrats support all of these things.
So, Joe Biden, I’m going to ask you the same thing I asked Pete Buttigieg: Is there room for pro-life voters in the Democratic Party?
After being accused of being MAGA extremists, a simple “yes” won’t work.
We need a real structural change in our party and a clear directive. We must abolish the pro-abortion litmus test for Democratic candidates.
Biden ran for uniting a nation. Instead, he appears to be doubled down on a divisive strategy that purges people from the Democratic Party.
