Bernie: Pro Roe before Roe v. Wade
Twitter user @Datoism tweeted a thread tracking Bernie’s commitment to women’s equality throughout his career as a legislator. This is a repost of that thread in a more eye-friendly format. Sanders’ entire career is marked with examples of socialist feminism.
1972: One year before Roe v Wade, Bernie ran for governor on a platform that men in government had no right to decide women’s reproductive health. Sanders said, “It strikes me as incredible that politicians think that they have the right to tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body.”
1972: In this profile from “A Feminist View of the Democratic and Liberty Union Candidates” Bernie wants to bring equal pay for equal work, universal day care, abortion rights, and leftists positions outside of gender equality like universal basic income and consumer leadership on corporate boards.
1989: As mayor, Bernie fought for an ordinance that “reserves 10% of all city funded construction jobs for women.” The paper explains,
“…while women benefited materially, ideological assumptions about women were challenged. Sanders’ administration did not merely fight for women’s jobs, they fought for the right to any job, including jobs requiring unfeminine qualifications and paying a ‘family wage.’”
1991: As Vermont’s Senator, Sanders tried to add an amendment to Civil Rights Act of 1991 that would have ensured that race and sex discrimination would be treated identically under federal law. Sanders told reporters, “That women today are not equal under the law is unacceptable.” The amendment was rejected.
1992: Senator Sanders (VT) proposes and passes Senate legislation calling for a national cancer registry. Sanders said, “Breast cancer in America today is a tragedy of epidemic proportions.”
1992: Sanders was vocal for the Freedom of Choice Act, 28, a bill that prohibits individual states from passing legislation to outlaw abortion. He explains, “Without the Freedom of Choice Act, women will need a computer program and a travel guide to find a safe and legal abortion.”
“There is a way to win this fight. The American people are not powerless. Our job is to create that groundswell of feeling to show pro-choice is not only the right thing, it’s a good political position to hold.” — Bernie Sanders
1994: As Senator, Sanders writes an opinion column for the Bennington Banner, “Insurance companies shouldn’t dictate an infant’s hospital stay.” He explained, “This trend toward truncated stays for mothers and newborns should be of concern to us.”
1996: In a bipartisan appeal, Senator Sanders and Constance Morella (R-Md) team up with this time to urge the NFL to address players’ domestic violence; the NFL aired a public service announcement in response.
The two senators went on to call for a “non-violence” summit to address the fact that, “nearly 4,000 women a year who die because of domestic violence…it is the leading cause of injury to women.”
Sanders continued his activism for ending domestic violence. Here’s his opinion column in The Brattleboro Reformer.
1998: The National Organization for Women (NOW) endorse Senator Sanders and no other Vermont politician. They explain, “He’s a congressman we don’t even have to call, We know he’s going to vote the right way” (also on this page are Sanders’ “irresponsible” record of cutting defense spending).
We didn’t even talk about after the year 2000! There’s more examples to be pulled from the archives. If you find some, put them in the comments. Of course huge thanks to @Datoism for finding and publishing all of these great sources! Follow @Datoism!
