Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. is facing more criticism this week after he attended a pro-abortion group’s fundraiser while claiming to be pro-life.
Democrats for Life leaders, who endorsed Casey in 2018 because of his pro-life stance, met with the Pennsylvania lawmaker this week to discuss the matter, Crux Now reports.
“We appreciate Senator Casey’s pro-life votes – most recently, voting to provide health care to unwanted children who survive an abortion attempt,” Kristen Day, the executive director of Democrats for Life, told the news outlet after the meeting. “However, you cannot claim to be for something and then turn around and support a group that stands directly against those ideals.”
In April, Politico reported seeing Casey at the EMILY’s List annual gala on April 4. The core mission of EMILY’s List is abortion on demand, and it spends millions of dollars every year supporting pro-abortion politicians’ election campaigns.
Casey repeatedly has said he opposes abortion. In 2018, he campaigned for re-election on the platform of being pro-life. Recently, he was one of only three Senate Democrats to support a bill protecting babies born alive after botched abortions.
However, LifeNews recently discovered that Casey also accepted money from pro-abortion political groups. EMILY’s List donated $500 to Casey’s 2018 re-election campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Planned Parenthood also has donated money to Casey.
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Day expressed her concerns about Casey to Crux:
“EMILY’s List does not exist to support Democrats, but to support only abortion rights and exclusively female candidates who support abortion rights,” said Day.
“DFLA exists to support pro-life Democrats, as Senator Casey has declared himself to be as recently as his last re-election in 2018 when we proudly supported his candidacy,” she continued in a statement.
“We share the senator’s support for electing more Democrats. But that can be done without compromising his pro-life position,” said Day. “We urge the senator to support and be a voice for pro-life candidates, who often find our party not very welcoming and are often told to change their position in exchange for support from the party.”
The Casey name has a reputation for being pro-life. Casey’s father, Bob Casey Sr., was a Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and a strong advocate for life. But his son’s voting record on the issue is mixed.
Pro-life leaders in Pennsylvania also are concerned by the news.
“It is so sad to see the report that Senator Bob Casey was spotted at a pro-abortion fundraiser,” said Maria V. Gallagher, legislative director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life.
She praised his father, the late Gov. Casey, for risking just about everything to stand up for the dignity and value of unborn babies during his time in office.
“If the report is accurate, the senator has trampled on his father’s distinguished legacy in the interests of political expediency,” Gallagher told LifeNews. “The people of Pennsylvania deserve better than this.”
LifeNews reached out to Casey’s office for comment, but did not receive a response.
In 2018, Casey had a 20-percent pro-life voting record from the National Right to Life Committee. In contrast, Planned Parenthood gave Casey a 75 percent on its voting scorecard since 2011, and the radical pro-abortion group NARAL, which attacks groups that support pregnant and parenting moms, gave him a 100 percent rating in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, during his re-election campaign, Casey defended his voting record in an interview with Politico.
“I think it’s clear to most people that the description of pro-life Democrat is accurate. I’ve been very consistent,” he said. “What it means is I try to support policies that help women and children both before and after birth. Part of that is making sure you are honest about differences but also at the same time trying to focus on ways to reduce both the number of abortions and the number of unwanted pregnancies, and I think my record reflects that.”
