House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined U.S. Rep. Sean Casten at a west suburban event Friday to promote the need for protections to reproductive rights as she sought to give the incumbent Democrat a boost in his reelection fight.
Appearing with Casten along with health policy experts and local abortion rights activists at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Pelosi said the choice in the midterms is clear.
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“Make no mistake, the difference between Democrats and Republicans on this is they have said they will have a national law to ban abortion,” Pelosi said. “We support women having the freedom to make family — and young people, to make their own decisions. That is a very big difference in the election. … Your right to choose is on the ballot.”
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced legislation in September that would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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Pelosi’s trip to the Chicago area just weeks before the election underscores the importance to Democrats of Casten’s campaign to hold his 6th District seat against Republican Keith Pekau, mayor of south suburban Orland Park.
While Democratic hopes of holding onto the House would be dealt a blow if Casten loses his seat, Pelosi insisted “it’s not about numbers, it’s about quality of leadership. He’s essential to doing what we need to do for America’s working families.”
President Joe Biden this week said if Democrats control enough seats in Congress after Nov. 8 to pass legislation protecting abortion, he will immediately send such a bill to Capitol Hill next year. Such moves are part of an effort by Democrats to reenergize their base after the Supreme Court in June overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
During Friday’s roundtable with Pelosi and Casten, Dr. Amy Addante, an obstetrician-gynecologist, said the court decision created “chaos, desperation and fear.”
The panelists noted the ruling led abortion to becoming virtually illegal in many states. Providers in those states are having to sift through ambiguous language and contact lawyers while a patient is in need of a lifesaving procedure, said Dr. Mairaj Jaleel, a pulmonary critical care specialist.
“They don’t teach you how sick is sick enough to meet a legal definition, and it’s just a gross interference into what I consider to be one of the most sacred relationships, which is the trust that I have between me and the patient in front of me,” Addante said.
With Biden in the White House, Republicans have designs on winning back the House of Representatives. Democrats currently hold 220 House seats to 212 for the Republicans, with three vacancies.
Pekau describes his position on abortion as “pro-life, with exceptions for the mother’s life, rape and incest.”
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He recently told the Tribune he thinks Casten and other Democrats are emphasizing the abortion question because they’re out of step on the economic and public safety issues that are more important to voters at the moment.
“It’s because they can’t talk about the other things, because their record on that right now is abysmal,” Pekau said.
Pelosi said Biden and Democratic legislators have done plenty to help working-class Americans, and attempts to saddle Democrats with blame for inflation are “Republican talking points.”
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
zsyed@chicagotribune.com
