If Elected to Congress, Schleifer Will Cosponsor Legislation that Protects a Woman’s Absolute Right to Choose, Fights Against Discrimination in the Workplace, and Addresses Alarming U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate
Schleifer: “I am committed to protecting the constitutional rights of women in Rockland and Westchester Counties.”
White Plains, NY – Adam P. Schleifer, a Democrat Candidate for U.S. Congress in New York’s 17th District, announced his plan on supporting and protecting women’s rights. The plan is broad, focusing on protecting reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose, ensuring equal pay for equal work, and promoting pro-family policies like paid parental and family leave. Schleifer’s plan also includes fully restoring federal funding towards Planned Parenthood, which has been under assault by the Trump Administration; repealing the Hyde Amendment; enhancing the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce anti-discrimination laws; and curbing the high maternal mortality rate in our country.
“I am committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all women in Rockland and Westchester Counties, including the unequivocal right to reproductive health, abortion, and privacy. Reproductive rights for all women are human rights” Schleifer states. “I will also fight to ensure everyone, regardless of gender, is afforded the opportunity to pursue meaningful careers and get equal pay for equal work, while getting the support we all need while raising families and caring for loved ones.”
If elected to Congress, Schleifer will protect Roe v. Wade and ensure government creates no undue burdens on the right to choose, including, if necessary, by sponsoring federal legislation in the event that right to privacy is undermined in the courts. As the family member of multiple OB-GYNs at the frontlines of protecting reproductive privacy and autonomy, Adam is committed to protecting those rights.
Schleifer’s plan also includes repealing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of Medicaid for almost all abortions. Schleifer will stand against any measures that would put low-income women at risk or interfere with her right to choose. Given that Medicaid provides coverage to 1 in 5 women of reproductive age (15-44), creating equal access to safe and affordable reproductive care is vital to Adam’s comprehensive plan.
Moreover, Schleifer’s plan emphasizes his commitment to fully funding Planned Parenthood, our nation’s publicly funded family planning program that serves 40 percent of the 4 million individuals who rely on Title X health centers. In 2019, Planned Parenthood was forced to withdraw from the Title X federal family planning program over a Trump Administration rule prohibiting Title X grantees from providing or referring patients for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency. If elected, Schleifer would support legislation that repeals the rule permanently to reestablish Planned Parenthood health centers, including the ones in White Plains and Spring Valley, as grantees of the program. He would also increase funding for Title X so that women across all backgrounds can have access to crucial and quality essential healthcare.
Schleifer identifies other areas where the federal government can protect a woman’s health and reproductive rights. Schleifer notes that his public health insurance option will include coverage for critical reproductive services, including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other necessary forms of contraception. He will similarly fight for private insurers to fully cover these services as well. Additionally, Schleifer would marshall federal resources to address the abysmal maternal mortality rate in the United States, particularly for black women. According to a report by the CDC, 658 women died in 2018 during pregnancy, at birth, or within 42 days of birth, placing our country’s maternal mortality rate among the highest of all wealthy countries. The death rate for black women, 37.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, is orders of magnitudes higher than that of white women and Latina women (14.7 and 11.8, respectively). Adam would also support legislation like Senator Harris’s Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (Maternal CARE) Act, which would address racial bias in maternal health care and provide funding for pregnancy medical home programs for expecting women.
In addition to protecting reproductive rights, Schleifer’s plan also aims at giving women more agency and flexibility as they build their careers and start families. Schleifer would increase funding for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, to eliminate discrimination against women applicants and employees. This is particularly critical when it comes to the gender pay gap, as women only make 82 cents for every $1 a man makes, independent of race. Schleifer will also sponsor legislation requiring employers to provide paid parental leave for at least twelve weeks. Finally, as laid out in his LGBTQ+ plan, Schleifer will push private insurers to cover fertility services so that the millions of people in this country seeking to have children are not routinely deprived of this basic aspect of medical care.
About Adam Schleifer:
Adam Schleifer is running for Congress to serve the people of New York’s 17th District encompassing Rockland County and northern and central Westchester County. Adam, 38, graduated from Chappaqua’s public schools in 1999 and went on to attend Cornell University and Columbia University Law School, where he served as a Senior & Staff Development Editor on the Columbia Law Review. After graduating from law school, Schleifer served two years as a federal law clerk, first in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and then in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Schleifer then built a career at one of the nation’s leading law firms before reentering public service, first as a New York State consumer-protection regulator, and then as an Assistant United States Attorney. Schleifer has prosecuted regulatory and federal-criminal actions against predatory payday and subprime auto lenders; taken dangerous and illegal weapons out of communities; prosecuted crimes of sexual violence and predation; and protected our clean air by prosecuting a conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. Adam Schleifer and his wife, Nicole, are residents of New Castle.
Read more about Adam Schleifer at www.AdamSchleifer.com.
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