A prominent national pro-choice advocacy group announced on Wednesday that it will endorse former state Senator Gail Schwartz in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District race, where Schwartz is seeking to unseat incumbent Sen. Scott Tipton.
The endorsement from NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC highlights stark contrasts in the positions of the two candidates on reproductive health care access, specifically relating to abortion rights. Tipton’s voting record and public policy positions have been underscored by NARAL in their annual rating of Members of Congress, in which he has consistently scored a zero percent rating.
Gail Schwartz provided the following statement upon accepting the NARAL endorsement:
I am honored to receive NARAL’s endorsement,” said Gail Schwartz. “Today’s Congress poses major threats to women’s reproductive rights, and to the full range of family planning services that women depend on. The record shows there is a distinct contrast on women’s issues between my opponent, Congressman Scott Tipton, and myself. Mr. Tipton has repeatedly supported an extreme agenda—voting to defund Planned Parenthood five times, voting twice to ban abortion after 20 weeks and criminalize physicians, and voting to allow hospitals to deny emergency abortion care. If elected to Congress, I will use my voice and my vote to stand up for the rights and commonsense reproductive health care that women have fought so hard to gain and to protect.
Executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, Karen Middleton, elaborated on NARAL’s endorsement, saying:
Colorado is a pro-choice state, and Coloradans deserve someone who represents their values. Scott Tipton does not – he’s voted for a nationwide ban on abortion, as well as attacking health care providers here in Colorado. Gail Schwartz will fight for Coloradans and our longstanding belief in reproductive freedom, including the right to choose an abortion and access to the full range of reproductive health care. Gail Schwartz is who Coloradans need and deserve in Congress.
A link on Sen. Scott Tipton’s campaign website to the incumbent senator’s positions and legislative record on issues related to Family Values appeared to confirm NARAL’s characterization, with the added caveat of identifying three exceptions to an abortion ban:
I am pro-life and I believe abortion should be limited to cases that involve rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother.
