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Tom Emmer Votes Against Women’s Rights, And It’s Time for Him to Go [1]
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Date: 2022-08-15
Jeanne Hendricks, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress in Minnesota's 6th, will make U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer votes against women’s rights and defending our Democracy the main issues in her campaign.
GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer has served Minnesota’s 6th district in the U.S. House for nearly nine years. During this time, he has shown us exactly where his priorities lie, both through the way he votes and in how he chooses to represent our district. At every opportunity, Tom Emmer demonstrates that he is against women’s rights, against social equality, against economic equity, that he values the profit of massive corporations over the health of his constituents, and that he is committed to toeing the Republican party line, no matter what. During the Trump presidency, Emmer’s votes mirrored Trump’s positions 90% of the time, making it all the more obvious that Emmer stands against democracy, against progress, and against the everyday people who work hard to bring peace and prosperity to our country.
Who is Tom Emmer? Tom Emmer is the GOP U.S. Representative from Minnesota’s 6th District and the Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. As Chair of the NRCC, U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer is committed to electing anti-choice and anti-gun safety Republican congressional candidates. His job is to lead the effort to defeat Democratic congressional incumbents around the country in order to take back the U.S. House for the Republican Party. He is also committed to helping re-elect candidates like U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert.
One of the most egregious ways that Tom Emmer has shown his distaste for American values is through his voting record, especially when it comes to achieving social and economic equality for women. Every single time that a bill aimed at advancing and protecting women’s rights has come across his path in the House, Emmer has tried to stop it. Combating domestic violence? Nay. Facilitating access to women’s health resources? Nay. Prohibiting discrimination in education, federal funding, employment, and housing on the basis of gender? Nay, nay, nay. Congressman Emmer has shown that time and time again, he will vote against women’s rights. Why should we give him 2 more years to prove what we already know? Tom Emmer is NOT for women’s rights.
Tom Emmer strongly supported overturning Roe v. Wade and supports making all abortions illegal, as well as putting women into prison for having a life-saving abortion, for obtaining one because of rape or incest, or for traveling out of state to receive an abortion. Yes, Rep. Emmer is that extreme.
Weeks following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, GOP U.S. Representative Emmer continues his attack on women’s rights. His recent vote opposing the Right to Contraception Act demonstrates Emmer’s lack of commitment towards doing what is best for his constituents. Not all contraceptives are used to prevent pregnancies, and many women use “the pill” as a way of reducing menstrual pain, regulating their periods, treating acne, or for endometriosis, which can result in infertility if left untreated. Though many individuals use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, The Guttmacher Institute concluded that “more than 58% of all pill users rely on the method, at least in part, for purposes other than pregnancy prevention—meaning that only 42% use the pill exclusively for contraceptive reasons.” Additionally, they found that “some 762,000 women who have never had sex use the pill.” Contraceptives are not strictly used to prevent pregnancy. They are tools to help women effectively manage their health, tools which Tom Emmer wants to restrict and control. Furthermore, along with his recent vote against the codification of contraceptive rights, Emmer also spreads misinformation about chemical abortion and endorses claims that they are “unsafe for women”, employing fear tactics to advance his agenda against women’s rights. Once again, Tom Emmer is NOT for women’s rights.
This is far from the first time that GOP U.S. Rep. Emmer opposed women’s rights. In 2021, Emmer voted against the Violence Against Women Act, which looked to create cost effective responses to issues pertaining to domestic violence and sexual assault. With one 2015 C.D.C. study indicating that one in five women experience sexual violence in their lifetime, and another conducted by the National Domestic Violence Hotline finding that 1 in 3 women in the U.S. will experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, such responses are more essential now than ever. This makes Emmer’s opposition to contraceptives and to abortions, even in the case of rape or incest, all the more damaging. Not only is he opposed to providing victims of rape with the health care they need to recover, but is also unwilling to fund the resources needed to prevent such instances of sexual assault in the first place. Emmer is taking away women’s autonomy at every turn.
In that same year, Emmer voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, the sole purpose of which was to eliminate gender-based discrimination in determining employee wages. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau calculated that full time working women make approximately 82% of what their male counterparts earned. To remedy this, the Act looked to put more autonomy into the hands of working women by requiring corporations to determine pay only on the basis of responsibilities and job performance. The Act would also prohibit contracts that restrict employees from sharing their salaries and increase penalties for companies that violate equal pay provisions. Every provision of the Paycheck Fairness Act makes it harder for companies to take advantage of their employees on the basis of gender, and the only reason to oppose it would be so that companies can continue to profit off of gender-based discrimination. And yet, Emmer opposed it whole-heartedly.
Similar to the Paycheck Fairness Act was the Equality Act of 2019. This Act, more broadly, looked to advance fair treatment for women by prohibiting discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation in several arenas, including education, federal funding, employment, housing, and the legal system. Under this Act, the denial of reproductive health services would also be deemed discriminatory. Surely supporting equality is a concept that all Americans can agree on, right? Apparently not, as Emmer predictably voted NO on Equality in 2019, and a second time in 2021.
Tom Emmer is against women’s rights, and continually endorses anti-women’s rights’ attitudes with his actions. In fact, GOP U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida’s 1st district, whom Emmer openly supports, recently expressed such attitudes at a rally. “Why is it that the women least likely to get pregnant are the ones looking for abortions? No one wants to impregnate you when you look like a thumb!” Gaetz continued, “They’re, like, 5’2,” 350 pounds, and they’re like, ‘Give me my abortion or I’ll get up and march and protest,’ I’m thinking, march? They need to get up and march for, like, an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.” Beyond this being a disgusting and derogatory way to speak about women, Gaetz’s message is clear: the women who want rights are too fat and ugly to deserve them.
Tom Emmer and those that share his opinions want to continue stripping women of vital resources that they depend on. He disregards the importance of contraceptives to women’s health, and in doing so, fails to prioritize the health of his constituents. Time and time again, Tom Emmer votes against legislation seeking to end gender-based discrimination and demonstrates how little regard he holds for women’s rights. He continues to show his constituents that he does not support equality, and works against providing women with necessary resources including those designed to combat domestic violence and sexual assault. Tom Emmer wants to take away women’s freedom and the right to control their own lives.
Jeanne Hendricks, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and National Women’s Political Caucus endorsed Democratic nominee for U.S Congress in Minnesota’s 6th, understands both the importance of equality and of providing women with resources to make their own health care decisions. Hendricks opposes gender-based discrimination in all aspects of society, and supports the provision of resources to minimize cases of domestic violence and sexual assault. Hendricks opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and believes that “We should not be taking steps backward. By reversing Roe, women are no longer able to receive health care that meets their reproductive health needs.” She supports access to contraceptives and maintains that “the decision about whether and when women have children should be in the hands of those women, not the government.” Jeanne Hendricks prioritizes women’s equality, freedom, and right to decide their own futures, and recognizes that “Protecting women’s lives and their health must be addressed now.” Women’s rights and defending our Democracy will define the campaign in Minnesota’s 6th and Jeanne Hendricks will use both these issues to defeat Tom Emmer.
Join Jeanne as she fights to protect women’s rights and health by retiring GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer. To support Jeanne and her campaign, donate to her campaign HERE or by checking out her website at www.Hendricks2022.com where you can also learn more about Jeanne’s stance on issues relevant to women’s health and watch her campaign video.
This post has been brought to you by Jeanne Hendricks’ Campaign for Congress 2022.
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