Murphy: Dems have to be a ‘big tent’ party on abortion rights

Feb. 02--NEW HAVEN -- U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., restated his support for abortion rights at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England on Whitney Ave. Thursday afternoon during a community roundtable, the same week a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks failed in the Senate by a 51 to 46 vote.

Amanda Skinner, president and CEO of PPSNE, welcomed Murphy by calling him a "steadfast supporter of our mission."

Murphy said the electorate should "create room for Republicans nationally" who are "willing to support choice and willing to support Medicaid."

"We've got to do work with the Republican Party for there to be pro-choice legislators," he said.

Although their votes would not have been enough to sway the outcome of the so-called "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," two Republican senators -- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine -- broke with their party to vote against the bill. Three Democrats -- Joe Donnelly of Indiana; Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- broke with their party and voted in favor of the bill, however.

When asked whether there was room in the Democratic Party for legislators who oppose abortion, Murphy said the party should be a "big tent."

"I don't call for litmus tests," he said. "I'm pro-choice, and we have to win the battle within the party."

The same "big tent" rules apply to a single-payer health care system, he said.

Although the crowd of about 40 people received Murphy warmly, the room fell silent when he stated his opposition to blocking hearings for any nominee made to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Donald Trump in the hypothetical case that a sitting judge retire or die. The memory of Senate Republicans, under the leadership of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, refusing to meet with Obama-era nominee Merrick Garland for nearly a year until Trump's election appeared to linger in the room.

"I think that's a rabbit hole our country would never recover from," Murphy said.

He implied he would likely vote against a Trump nominee, but he would not deny any nominee a vote. The issue was pertinent to the activists and community members in the room because the fate of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case affirming the constitutionality of abortion, potentially hangs in the balance.

"Lives are on the line," one woman in the crowd mumbled.

Murphy said many people who get pregnant in Connecticut can feel confident that the state would consistently be pro-choice, although that progress can be undone at a national level.

"It was a close call," Murphy said of this week's vote on the proposed 20-week abortion ban. "We saved funding for Planned Parenthood by one vote in the U.S. Senate (in September)."

Murphy also discussed some economic and health coverage factors pertinent to Planned Parenthood's mission.

The Republican tax bill will throw 13 million Americans off their health care plans according to the Congressional Budget Office, and the subsequent deficit created by cuts to revenue will be used as a justification by Republicans for cuts to spending later on, he said.

"I'm concerned about the tenor and tone the Supreme Court has taken," Skinner said. "It concerns me we may have an opponent or a more conservative Supreme Justice to join the court."

Skinner said she appreciates Murphy's dedication to fighting to maintain Title X funding.

Murphy spent about an hour in total listening to stories from physicians and people whose lives have been affected by abortion and the reproductive health system, including Sally Grossman of Windsor, who credits Medicaid for making it financially possible for her to give birth to a healthy baby in 2012, and Connie Cooper, who retold the story of saving money for her college roommate to get a flight from Ohio to California for an abortion when faced with an unsupportive family and partner.

"That is still a reality," Murphy said. "Every election matters."

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com

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