Maloney: On Women’s Rights, Differences Between Obama and Romney are ‘Stark’

Max Samis — August 22, 2012 – 2:30 pm | Barack Obama | Mitt Romney | Women's Issues Comments (0) Add a comment

For months, the Republican Party has been waging what many have called a “war on women” in their opposition to pro-choice and pro-equality legislation at every level of American politics and government. Following comments by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) about how victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant, that battle gained a face and a name. Now, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has penned an op-ed in Politico detailing that it isn’t just Akin who has expressed these shockingly offensive views about women - it’s the entire Republican Party.

Maloney wrote:

From a woman’s right to choose, to a woman’s right to receive equal pay for equal work, the differences between the two presidential candidates are stark indeed. Consider the following.

On a woman’s right to choose:

President Barack Obama believes that a woman’s reproductive choices should be hers to make. He recognizes it as a very difficult decision but said: ‘I trust women to make these decisions.’

Gov. Mitt Romney on the other hand, opposes a woman’s right to choose, except in cases of rape and incest and believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. He selected as his running mate a man who opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest and who co-sponsored a federal law that could in effect, criminalize popular forms of birth control.

On the issue of equal pay:

Obama understands that gender-based pay discrimination has a huge impact on women’s lives. The first bill he signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, pointing out that: ‘Over the course of her career, she [Lilly] lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits.’

Romney has repeatedly refused to say whether he would have signed the bill. His pick for vice president, Paul Ryan, voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Act.

On the issue of family planning:

Obama has said that instead of defunding Planned Parenthood, we should make sure that women control their own health care choices, knowing that access to affordable contraception and the ability to space and time their children has a huge impact on the health of millions of women.

Romney has repeatedly said that he would defund Planned Parenthood. In 2010, Planned Parenthood provided 11 million medical services for nearly three million people. Thirty-eight percent of what Planned Parenthood does is testing and treatment of STDs, 33.5 percent is contraceptive services and 14.5 percent is cancer screening. And Romney wants to defund it.

On re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act

Obama strongly supports the passage of the Senate bill that reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act, a landmark piece of legislation originally authored by Vice President Joe Biden.

Romney was asked in 2008 about the VAWA and he said, ‘I’m not familiar with the act.’ This year, he won’t go on the record in support of the Senate version of the VAWA with its expansion of coverage to more victims of violence…

There are many other differences between the two candidates. From Medicare to Social Security, they’re oceans apart. While I understand the frustration with the political process, the belief that ‘there’s not a dime’s worth of difference’ simply couldn’t be further from the truth.

Click here to read the full op-ed.

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