Read “Mitt Romney: Bad for Women.”
Washington, D.C. — As Gov. Romney attempts to distance himself from radical members of his party like Rep. Todd Akin, the Center for American Progress Action Fund released a new paper detailing the real impact Romney’s policies would have on the lives of women and families across the country. The paper, “Mitt Romney: Bad For Women,” released today illustrates how on a wide range of issues from the economy to women’s health, Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) policies would take America’s women backwards.
Gov. Romney’s pledge to repeal Obamacare—the universal health plan that he himself envisioned and implemented while governor of Massachusetts—is perhaps Romney’s most significant threat to women’s health and economic wellness. The move to repeal the Affordable Care Act would reinstate sex discrimination in the insurance market, force women to pay out of pocket for cost-saving and recommended preventive services such as mammograms, and end critical financial protections that disproportionately benefit women and their families.
Further, Gov. Romney would take women backwards when it comes to their health care by eroding access to contraception and supporting efforts to outlaw abortion:
- This week Gov. Romney’s party has once again pledged to include in its official platform an amendment to the constitution that would outlaw abortion without any exceptions, and in the past Romney has called Roe v. Wade “one of the darkest moments in Supreme Court history”
- Romney has also supported a personhood amendment that could outlaw contraception and abortion under all circumstances with no exceptions
- He has said that he disagrees with the constitutional right to privacy and the right of married couples to use contraception
- He would “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, a resource that is essential for millions of women in this country who rely on the clinic’s services, and the move would be particularly devastating to women of color
The CAP Action analysis of the Romney-Ryan plan illustrates how a Romney-Ryan administration would hinder women’s economic progress in these key ways:
- A President Romney would cut jobs in the women-dominated public sector: Gov. Romney has been vocal about his desire to eliminate jobs in the public sector—a move that would affect the more than three-quarters of public school teachers who are women.
- Gov. Romney includes nothing in his economic plan that would improve women’s wages: He has no plan to help women find jobs if they are unemployed, keep the jobs they already have, or earn a paycheck on which they can support themselves and their families.
- Romney would continue to deny women paid sick days and family and medical leave: While President Barack Obama has endorsed paid sick days, Gov. Romney refuses to comment on this common sense solution that would benefit working women.
- Romney’s policies would hurt the most vulnerable women: While Romney seeks to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, he has also pledged to reduce the deficit through draconian measures, to cap federal spending regardless of people’s needs, and to drastically and unnecessarily increase military spending. Gov. Romney’s proposed cuts to benefits will inevitably hit women harder than men, because women tend to live longer and because women are more likely to rely solely on Social Security income in their senior years.
Read “Mitt Romney: Bad for Women.”
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To speak with CAP Action experts, please contact Madeline Meth at [email protected] or 202.741.6277.
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