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In recent years it has been difficult for a moderate, pro-choice Republican to win an election to public office. This is especially true for women. Many women have been driven from the party and have run as Democrats because they believed their chances of winning were greater. I have never believed in this way of thinking, however, and I believe that respecting a woman’s right to choose fits well within our party’s principles of limiting government’s intrusion on personal matters.
As past president of the California County Boards of Education, I believe it is important for me to be open and honest about my values and beliefs. I have always been outspoken in my support of reproductive rights. Additionally, as a board member of the County Office of Education, I let policies that ensure the safety and health of our children dictate my vote, not party lines, even though taking such a nonpartisan position is unpopular within the Republican Party. In fact my nonpartisan voting record was so unpopular that the local GOP central committee backed another more conventional anti-choice candidate when I ran for this office even though I was already an incumbent on the board. That I won with 70% of the vote speaks volumes to the fact that there is most definitely room for pro-choice voices within our party.
Our party has always valued the liberty of individuals, and I see no better way to support this liberty than by supporting a woman’s right to choose. Women should always be in control of their own fertility and have access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services. Whether a woman uses birth control or makes the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy is none of the government’s business.
I am pro-choice because I believe in letting women control their own fertility and decide for themselves when they are ready to be a parent. If we want to ensure that every child is a loved and wanted child, we must always respect the liberty of women to make wise, thoughtful decisions for themselves without government interference.
