There Are Few Anti-Choice Dems Left In Congress. The Worst One Is Running Against Jessica Cisneros

A recent poll by Hart Research for NBC News shows that most Americans (54%) believe abortion should be legal and accessible. Generally speaking, the outliers are evangelicals, rural voters, elderly voters, southerners and uneducated people-- often a combination of all 5:

All adults

• legal- 54%

• illegal- 42%

18-34

• legal- 65%

• illegal- 32%

65+

• legal- 48%

• illegal- 49%

Whites

• legal- 51%

• illegal- 46%

Blacks

• legal- 55%

• illegal- 39%

Latinos

• legal- 63%

• illegal- 35%

Men

• legal- 49%

• illegal- 47%

Women

• legal- 59%

• illegal- 38%

Whites with college

• legal- 60%

• illegal- 37%

Whites without college

• legal- 46%

• illegal- 50%

Urban

• legal- 65%

• illegal- 34%

Suburban

• legal- 54%

• illegal- 42%

Rural

• legal- 33%

• illegal- 63%

Northeast

• legal- 65%

• illegal- 34%

Midwest

• legal- 49%

• illegal- 48%

South

• legal- 43%

• illegal- 52%

West

• legal- 65%

• illegal- 31%

Evangelicals

• legal- 26%

• illegal- 70%

Non-evangelicals

• legal- 65%

• illegal- 32%

Politically, most of the opposition to women's Choice comes from Republicans and the support comes from Democrats. Among the candidates endorsed by Blue America in the 2022 primaries, only one-- Texas progressive Jessica Cisneros-- is facing an anti-Choice opponent, reactionary Blue Dog Henry Cuellar. Jessica is running in a south Texas district she nearly won last year-- TX-28-- which includes all or part of 9 counties. Most of the voters live in Webb, Bexar and Hidalgo counties. The PVI is D+5, although the GOP-- happy with the conservative Democratic incumbent, Cuellar-- doesn't run candidates against him. As Cuellar has destroyed the Democratic Party brand in the district, it has been trending in a Republican direction. In 2012 Obama won with 60.3%. Four years later, Hillary beat Trump 58.3% to 38.5% and last year Biden beat Trump by just 51.6% to 47.2%. The district is 77.5% Latino.

Yesterday, the illegitimate McConnell Supreme Court gave Texas the OK to a law that allows a man-- including her grandpa-- to impregnate a woman by rape and then sue her and anyone who helps her if she tries to get an abortion. Although that was certainly a happy day for Henry Cuellar, Jessica Cisneros-- like most women and most Democrats and most human beings-- was mortified by it. She wrote an OpEd for Teen Vogue explaining her feelings on the new Texas law. I want to share some of that OpEd with you in a moment. First though, this is from a statement that Jessica sent out to her supporters in the district yesterday. Please read it and consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on the Primary A Blue Dog thermometer below.

"It’s infuriating that with so much work still left to do to ensure everyone has the resources and support they need to survive the COVID-19 pandemic," wrote Jessica, "our anti-choice government officials, like Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Henry Cuellar want to make health care even less accessible. Our elected officials have known for years of the right-wing movement to overturn Roe and they chose to be bystanders instead of defending our rights. Instead of standing up for his community which already struggles accessing basic health care, our Representative Henry Cuellar co-sponsored anti-choice legislation, voted to strip federal funding for reproductive health from Medicaid, and even threatened to block the expansion of Medicare in President Biden’s budget. It’s time Texas elects champions of reproductive freedom who will always fight for our fundamental right to abortion care."

From the Teen Vogue OpEd:

I live in Laredo, a border town in South Texas, where access to basic health care is extremely limited and reproductive health care is even more difficult to find. One of the many reasons I support Medicare for All is because I believe health care is a human right, not just a privilege for those who can afford it.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people in my community to cross over to Mexico for care because it’s more affordable there. My friends and I have crossed into Nuevo Laredo for pap smears, birth control, and mammograms because they’re unaffordable on this side of the border for those who are uninsured. We recognize that we have the privilege to cross the border to get the care we need-- a privilege many of our undocumented loved ones don’t have.

...When laws that push access to reproductive health care out of reach take effect, it’s always women of color and low-income communities that are most harmed. Others who have the resources and connections will always find a way to receive the care they need. But people like my niece, my sister, my mother, my neighbors, and friends don’t have the same luxury of choice. This year, the state of Texas kicked Planned Parenthood health centers out of the state’s Medicaid program, stripping basic services-- including cancer and STI screenings-- from the communities that need them most. Texas also has one of the highest maternal mortality rates, which disproportionately affects Black mothers.

Anti-choice politicians in Texas have made their priorities clear: Instead of focusing on the health and safety of Texas communities, state leaders are attacking our right to abortion care. Some in the federal government have taken steps toward making reproductive health care and abortion care more accessible, but their efforts are undermined by lawmakers like Rep. Henry Cuellar. Cuellar, my former boss, is the incumbent Democrat representing Texas’s 28th Congressional District-- my home. While in office, he has voted numerous times to ban coverage of abortion care for people insured through Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood, and has even cosponsored anti-choice legislation introduced by Republicans.

The future of Roe v. Wade is undoubtedly on the line. With the conservative Supreme Court set to hear a case regarding Mississippi’s ban on abortion that directly challenges Roe, we need representatives in Congress who will be unapologetically pro-choice and stand up for our reproductive freedom; people who will fight to protect the legal right to abortion by passing legislation like the Women’s Health Protection Act in Congress and help ensure that all people have the right to access the care they need. This also means repealing the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal Medicaid funding for abortions, to make the procedure more affordable and accessible regardless of where a person lives or their economic situation.

Our bodies and our futures are not chess pieces for anti-choice politicians like Greg Abbott and Henry Cuellar to use in their political games. It’s up to us to vote them out, and in the meantime to look out for one another through mutual aid. I encourage people to look at the work Texas abortion funds are doing, uplift them, and help fund them if you are able. Down here in South Texas, we have Frontera Fund, which helps people from the Rio Grande Valley to Laredo to San Antonio access abortion care. Now that these laws are in effect, the work of funds will be even more vital for Texas residents. We have to step up and ensure people and families in South Texas have access to the care they need when our state leaders fail to do so.

In 2022, there were 8 nationally known politicians who endorsed in the TX-28 primary. Do you identify with any of these men and women and the positions they stand for?

• Bernie for Jessica Cisneros

• Elizabeth Warren for Jessica Cisneros

• AOC for Jessica Cisneros

• Pramila Jayapal for Jessica Cisneros

• Ayanna Pressley for Jessica Cisneros

• Julian Castro for Jessica Cisneros

• Nancy Pelosi for Cuellar

• Cheri Bustos for Cuellar