Democrats Announce Plan to Reduce the Number of Abortions
The 95-10 Initiative is a comprehensive package of federal legislation and policy proposals that will reduce the number of abortions by 95% in the next 10 years.
WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) April 26, 2005
Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) joined Congressmen Tim Ryan, Bart Stupak, Lincoln Davis and other pro-life Democrats at a national press conference at the Democratic National Committee today to unveil an innovative abortion-reduction proposal. The proposal they call the “95-10 Initiative” was released after months of research, political outreach and planning.
The 95-10 Initiative is a comprehensive proposal of 15 different policy programs that, when fully funded and implemented in coordination with each other, will hopefully reduce the number of abortions in America by 95 percent over the next 10 years.
“The 95-10 Initiative is our number one priority. While many talk about protecting life, we’re proposing a legitimate policy initiative that will actually reduce the number of abortions in America. The 95-10 Initiative has been met favorably by both pro-life and pro-choice advocates and elected officials,” said Kristen Day, Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America.
Former Congressman and 9-11 Commissioner, Tim Roemer said, “95-10 is meant to put words into action. Our party has made more progress on this issue in the last three months than we have in the last 10 years. Ours can be the party that reduces the number of abortions in this country.”
Among the elected official already in support of the 95-10 Initiative is Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE). “Democrats for Life of America share the same goal as most Americans – to reduce the instance of abortion in America. The plan outlined today is a good first step to successfully reduce the rate of abortion by offering alternatives that promote family, promote adoption, and provide education and support for new mothers. I commend Democrats for Life of America for their efforts to bring this issue to the forefront of the agenda and for putting the care and support for newborns and new mothers above all else.”
The 17 different policy programs outlined in the 95-10 Initiative are broken into three categories: empowering women, defending women and protecting unborn children. “We can’t thank Congressman Ryan enough for taking a leadership role on this Initiative. From the day we proposed 95-10 to him, he eagerly embraced the concept and is quickly taking the idea and making it a reality in the Congress,” said Day.
Congressman Ryan (D-OH) announced at today’s press conference that he will be introducing the 95-10 Initiative in Congress in the near future. “This legislative initiative will communicate to pregnant women that the community is behind you to carry the baby to term. I am proud that the Democratic Party is supportive of this and that Democratic members are supportive,” said Ryan.
“We are sending an important message today, that by working together and using this legislation as a guide we can take steps to drastically reduce the number of abortions in the United States,” said Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL). “I urge all of our colleagues to embrace this effort." “I believe the "90-10" program is something everyone, regardless of party affiliation, ought to be supporting,” said Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN).
One of the key components of 95-10 addresses adoptions which garnered strong support from adoption advocates like the National Council For Adoption. In a statement, the President and CEO of NCFA, Tom Atwood said, “We support pro-adoption measures proposed in the 95-10 Initiative. As provided for in this legislation, the time has come to make adoption tax credits permanent and to ensure that women with unplanned pregnancies receive timely counseling and accurate information about the positive option of adoption."
Joining Senator Nelson and the National Council for Adoption in support of the 95-10 Initiative was Kurt Entsminger, President, CareNet. In a released statement Entsminger said, “We applaud Democrats for Life for championing an agenda that embraces the women facing an unplanned pregnancy and offers her support and critical information about positive alternatives to abortion. Pregnancy resource centers are at the forefront of these efforts, and are the key players to help reach the goal of making abortion rare.”
“DFLA has always been committed to protecting life, but we also want to help strengthen and rebuild the Democratic majority in America. Our vision is that a pro-choice Democrat could say that they are a “95-10 pro-choice Democrat”. Both pro-life and pro-choice Democrats want to reduce the number of abortions, and this initiative will help us focus on what we have in common instead of our differences on the life issue,” said Day.
Democrats For Life of America was founded in 1999 to mobilize Democrats at the local, state, and national levels. Their primary mission has been to help pro-life Democrats, support pro-life elected officials, promote a pro-life plank in the Democratic Party platform and achieve legislation that fosters respect for human life.
Democrats For Life of America currently has 41 state chapters with plans to expand the group into additional states by the end of the year. In addition to the grassroots support across America, the group has several Members of Congress who are actively promoting the groupÂ’s mission.
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