The head of a prominent abortion rights group will be stepping down at the end of the month.
Ilyse Hogue, who has led NARAL Pro-Choice America since 2013, announced her departure in a tweet on Monday.
“Traveling around the country and working with our 2.7 million members to advance abortion access has given me such hope and joy,” she said. “I’ve always said our members are our super power, never resting until there is reproductive freedom for every body.”
???Some news: After eight years of leading @NARAL, I shared with my team today that I am moving on. Not right away – I’ll be here to support the team through the transition to our next lucky leader. Story below. /1 https://t.co/ck89laCODz
— Ilyse Hogue (@ilyseh) February 8, 2021
Even with President Biden taking office along with a Democrat-controlled legislature, Hogue said she is still concerned about the future of abortion access. When asked by the New York Times if she felt Roe v. Wade was safe, she responded, “No.”
“One of the lessons that we learned over the last eight years is that constant vigilance is required to secure all of our rights,” she said.
On Jan. 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, in Roe v. Wade that abortion was a right protected by the Constitution.
“When I came to NARAL, the Democratic consensus toward abortion rights was mostly check the box and move on, with some amazing exceptions,” Hogue said. “I think that, politically, it is not a salable point anymore that you can’t be an active champion.”
When asked whether there was room in the Democratic Party for those who don’t support abortion, Hogue responded, “What there is zero room in the party for is people who would oppose the seven in 10 Americans who don’t think politicians should be governing their decisions about pregnancy and family. The opposition to abortion never, never actually mapped onto faith as much as it mapped onto hostility to social progress, gender equity, racial equity. We cannot pretend that this is a benign difference of opinion when, in fact, you’re trading away fundamental freedoms for Americans.”
Hogue said that she will help the organization through the transition process to its next leader. She did not detail what her plans are after leaving NARAL.
