John Edwards 2004 On The Issues

Standing Up For Women And Families

Senator John Edwards is a strong supporter of women's rights, families and the right to choose. He has worked to protect Roe vs. Wade and has opposed anti-choice nominations. He has also been a leader on women's health issues, including passing a real Patients Bill of Rights, and has strongly supported equal pay for women. Senator Edwards also has stood up for families, because he knows that being a parent is harder than ever. His proposals will offer parents a chance to spend more time with their children, and help parents instill strong values in our children.

Standing Up For A Woman's Right To Choose

Supporting Roe vs. Wade, Fighting For a Federal Freedom of Choice Act. Edwards is a strong supporter of Roe vs. Wade and a woman's right to choose. At a January 2003 NARAL event, Edwards said he would "help lead a fight to pass a federal freedom of choice act so that your right to choose is guaranteed and protected no matter what the court does." He has voted against Republican efforts to prohibit funding for choice for federal employees, DC residents and women overseas at international family planning centers. He also voted to eliminate a ban on abortions at overseas military facilities, which would ban abortion even if the woman paid for it herself.
Opposing a Global Gag Rule. Edwards opposes President Bush's reinstatement of the "Mexico City policy" or "global gag rule," which prevents an organization from receiving federal funding-or UN funding-if they provide abortions or counsel patients about abortions.
Opposing Anti-Choice Nominations. Edwards, a member of the Judiciary Committee voted against the nominations of John Ashcroft, Priscilla Owen, and Bill Pryor each strongly opposed by pro-choice groups such as NOW, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood.

Promoting Women's Health, Pay Equity

Leading the Fight for a Real Patients' Bill of Rights To Require HMOs to Cover OB/GYNs and Breast Cancer Treatments. Edwards was a key leader on legislation that would guarantee HMOs provide people the health care they pay for by coauthoring the Bipartisan Patient Protection Act with Senators Kennedy and McCain and leading the fight to pass the bill. He supported requiring health insurance plans to allow any woman to designate an OB/GYN doctor as her primary care physician and to provide coverage for inpatient hospital care after any mastectomy, lumpectomy, or lymph node dissection.
Helping Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence. In 2002, Edwards introduced the Women in Trauma Act, which would focus new federal efforts on improving mental health and substance abuse services for women affected by domestic or sexual violence. Edwards also introduced the Counseling in Shelters Act to provide federal funding to enable shelters and other community-based providers to hire trained mental health and substance abuse counselors to help victims.
Working to Increase Funding for Women's Health Research. In 2001, Edwards authored a bill to increase awareness of the link between periodontal disease in pregnant women and birth defects. In addition, Edwards has voted to increase funding for breast cancer research programs under the National Institute of Health and Department of Defense. He has also cosponsored several bills to provide funding for breast cancer research and to promote awareness of the disease.
Supporting Equitable Coverage of Contraceptives. In March 2003, Edwards voted to require equitable coverage of contraceptives. He cosponsored two bills to require health plans to provide equitable coverage of prescription contraceptive drugs in 1999 and 2001. Many insurance companies commit the discriminatory health practice of covering prescriptions but excluding coverage for birth control - a prescription needed exclusively by women.
Supporting Pay Equity. Edwards knows that women still earn, on average, 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. He cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen penalties against employers who deny women equal pay for equal work.

Giving Parents More Choices At Work

Assisting Parents Get Time with Their Children. Senator Edwards has proposed a $2,500 family leave tax credit, phased in over a period of years, that will effectively provide paid leave without hurting businesses. While the Family and Medical Leave Act gives 2/3 of Americans unpaid leave when a new child is born, many American cannot afford to take unpaid leave. Yet the danger with requiring paid leave is hurting small businesses and costing jobs. This credit, offered to the working parents of newborns as a refundable tax credit, would benefit about 3.5 million families a year. For families with newborns, the proposal would more than double the existing child tax credit, and like the existing credit, the proposal would phase out for families earning more than $110,000.
Expanding Family Leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act helps many families each year spend time with their children and elderly family members, but is too limited in its scope. Parents of newborns should be able to take unpaid leave on a part-time basis, provided they establish a real schedule with their businesses. Edwards would also give parents unpaid leave for parent-teacher conferences and would guarantee some form of unpaid leave to millions of workers at small businesses who get nothing now.
Doubling Support for Elder Care. Edwards would help the growing number of working parents who are responsible for their own parents' or spouses' care by doubling federal support for respite care and adult day care.

Offering Quality Afterschool Opportunities

Offering High-Quality Afterschool Programs for Children Who Need Them. Edwards believes that with more and more parents working, children need quality afterschool programs to help them learn more and stay out of trouble. He supports expanding quality afterschool programs to millions of children whose parents want them. His initiative, phased in over time, would be run through the states, with two requirements: providing opportunities at or near every school, and making the opportunities high-quality. Edwards opposed the Bush administration's efforts to cut 500,000 afterschool slots, and believes we should determine which programs work best and promote those programs.

Supporting Parents' Values and Encouraging Responsible Parents

Encouraging Community Service. Edwards will help high schools require community service as a condition of graduation. Not all education takes place in the classroom--community service is one of the best ways to encourage our young people to get new experiences and become more involved in their communities.
Making The Internet a Safer Place for Children. Edwards believes we must stop junk mail on the internet. Today, providers use fake names to escape detection and make pornography available to our children. We should pass a law blocking this sort of fraud.
Encouraging Responsibility from Dads. While moms on welfare are required to work, and they get help in finding it, dads have neither help nor the requirement. In order to give fathers better means to support their children and be valued members of their family and their community, we should require fathers to work, give them help finding work, and make sure child support goes to the parent, and not the government.

Offering Help for Senior Women

Protect Social Security. Senator Edwards knows that women are particularly affected by detrimental changes in Social Security, and he strongly opposes recent efforts to privatize Social Security, which would jeopardize benefits by risking our Social Security funds in the stock market. Edwards also opposes efforts to raise the retirement age and has called on Congress and the administration to restore fiscal discipline to Washington in order to preserve the Social Security Trust Fund and our commitment to future generations.
Lower-Cost Prescriptions For All Seniors Through Medicare. Senator Edwards believes that we need an affordable prescription benefit for senior citizens and disabled Medicare beneficiaries. Edwards strongly opposes proposals to require seniors to give up their traditional Medicare and go into an HMO in order to get drug benefits. He strongly supports a prescription drug benefit but believes the benefit proposed in current legislation is too confusing and unstable, and does not do enough to control prices.

Source: John Edwards for President 2004 Web Site