Today is the first day of the Democratic Party debates for the primary hopefuls and we are continuing our spotlight on the female candidates in this race. Last week, we covered the positions of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamala Harris, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. They offered different proposals and stances on the issues we care about, which are reproductive rights, child care, maternal healthcare, the gender wage gap, and sexual assault. Even though each of these formidable women may have different approaches to our issues, we are still elated that more women are running for president than ever before. It is a mark of progress that has been carrying through since the midterm elections in November. See the stances and proposals of Senator Amy Klobuchar, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, and self-help author Marianne Williamson below.
Amy Klobuchar
Minnesota, Senator
Reproductive Rights
Major takeaway: “Ensure funding for Planned Parenthood, end the global and domestic gag rules, and restore the Title X program. Senator Klobuchar will reverse the Trump Administration’s decision to change the Title X program to ban health providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving funding under Title X. She will end the global and domestic gag rules, and she will fight for legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade and protects women’s reproductive rights.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
Maternal Healthcare
Major takeaway: “Expand VA health benefits for women veterans and their babies. The Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008 gave the VA the authority to provide care for newborn babies born to women veterans, but a narrow interpretation of the law is preventing access to care. Senator Klobuchar will direct the VA to expand covering the costs of medically-necessary emergency services for newborn babies of veterans.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
Major takeaway: “Develop best models of care to address disparities in maternal and infant mortality and address the shortage of maternity care health professional in underserved rural and urban areas. Senator Klobuchar will immediately implement a new law that tackles the shortage of maternity care health professionals — including nurses, midwives, and obstetricians — in underserved areas, and she will develop best models of care to address racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
Child Care
Major takeaway: “Outline a plan to cut childhood poverty in half in ten years and end it within a generation. Senator Klobuchar will put forward a plan to cut childhood poverty in half in ten years, including expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Care Tax Credit, SNAP benefits and overhauling our country’s housing policy.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
Sexual Assault
Major takeaway: “Immediately close the ‘boyfriend loophole.’ Senator Klobuchar leads legislation in the Senate to close the ‘boyfriend loophole’ by preventing people who have abused dating partners from buying or owning firearms, and she will take executive action to get it done immediately.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
“Restore asylum for the victims of gender-based violence. Senator Klobuchar will overturn former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s opinion in Matter of A-B and restore protections for immigrant victims of domestic violence seeking asylum in the United States.” Read her plan for her first 100 days here.
Tulsi Gabbard
Hawaii, Representative
Reproductive Rights
Major takeaway: Although she was anti-abortion when she was younger, her position has changed over the years. She was against the proposed ban of abortions after 20 weeks and if she became president, she will use “federal money to provide abortion.” Read the report here and here.
Gender Wage Gap
Congress work: Rep. Gabbard co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act on Equal Pay Day in 2017. The act would “strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, ending the practice of pay secrecy, easing workers’ ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, and strengthening the available remedies for wronged employees.” Read the summary of the bill here.
Sexual Assault
Major takeaway: “I believe that we still today don’t know how rampant sexual assault in the military is, because there is still a fear of retaliation, there is a stigma and people who don’t want to be known as ‘that one’…[Military Justice Improvement Act] is so important because it provides that path outside of the chain of command where you know that there is no one, whether it’s your team leader, platoon leader, first sergeant or commander, there is no one who will be able to stop your pursuit of justice and accountability if you’re a victim of assault in the military,” Read the report here.
Marianne Williamson
Self-help author
Reproductive Rights
Major takeaway: “Expanding a woman’s understanding of her alternatives to termination is a good thing. But eradicating or limiting abortion rights would not decrease their number; it would simply mean that rich women have safe abortions, while poor women go back to risking injury, or even death, in the modern equivalent of back-alley abortions. That, to me, is morally unacceptable.” Read her statement here.
Maternal Healthcare
Major takeaway: “A Williamson Administration would be not only a victory for women, but it would also be a victory for our children, and for our future as a nation. As president, I would advocate for the following: Proper prenatal care regardless of ability to pay, proper healthcare for pregnant women, maternal and paternal leave…” Read her statement here.
Child Care
Major takeaway: “I will establish a cabinet-level Department of Childhood and Youth. Our economic system was developed at a time when women had little or no voice within the public sphere, and taking care of children was considered ‘women’s work.’” Read her statement here.
Gender Wage Gap
Major takeaway: “Our economic system was created by men, for men – and only recently have women been allowed power within that system. The proverbial glass ceiling traditionally kept women out of the market system, and while the situation has certainly improved, it will take years to transform the kind of thinking that still leaves women out of the game.” Williamson plans to “Support the EMPOWER Act – Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace Harassment through Education and Reporting Act.” Read her statement here.
Sexual Assault
Major takeaway: If Williamson is president, she plans to: “Reauthorize and fully fund the Violence Against Women Act and then remove all sunset provisions so that it cannot lapse, empower the Justice Department to more thoroughly prevent sexual harassment, discrimination, and rape.” Read her statement here.
We’re looking forward to the Democratic debates and hearing the women make their case to the be the next Democratic presidential candidate. If you haven’t read Part 1 of our article series, make sure to check it out and see where Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamala Harris, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stand on our issues. What do you think of the stances and proposals of the female candidates?
Photo of Marianne Williamson is by Marc Nozell on Flickr. Photos of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Senator Amy Klobuchar are by Gage Skidmore on Flickr.