What You Need to Know About the We Decide 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum

[If video does not play above, view it on YouTube.]

Abortion access is a key issue for the 2020 elections. A record-high 77 percent of Americans say they don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and there is no state in this country where banning abortion is popular. This matters in early primary states; a new CNN poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucus participants showed that support for abortion rights is the top issue for voters, with 8 in 10 voters calling it a “must have,” including 85% of women.

That’s why the Planned Parenthood Action Fund has convened the We Decide: 2020 Election Membership Forum — an event where Planned Parenthood Action Fund members and 20 presidential candidates will come together to take on tough questions about the candidates’ plans to protect and expand access to reproductive health care - including access to safe, legal abortion.

Here are the key details — including information on where, when, and how you can watch.

Where and When Is This Happening?

In Columbia, S.C. — on Saturday, June 22 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time.

How Can I Watch?

Right here, from an embedded video in this blog post — but for a reminder, you can sign up here to get notified.

Who’s Going to Be There?

Members of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund will be there (you can join now) — 800 of them live and on-site in South Carolina, and thousands more on the livestream — plus 20 presidential candidates:

• Former Vice President Joe Biden

• U.S. Senator Kamala Harris

• U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

• U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders

• U.S. Senator Michael Bennet

• U.S. Senator Cory Booker

• U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren

• U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar

• Governor Jay Inslee

• Governor John Hickenlooper

• Former Housing & Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro

• U.S. Representative Tim Ryan

• U.S. Representative John Delaney

• U.S. Representative Seth Moulton

• U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell

• Former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke

• Mayor Pete Buttigieg

• Mayor Bill de Blasio

• Marianne Williamson

• Andrew Yang

Why Are We Holding This Forum Now?

Because we’re in a state of emergency for women’s health in the United States. In 2019, 26 abortion bans have passed in a dozen states. Missouri and Alabama passed some of the most extreme abortion bans seen since Roe v. Wade, which include criminal penalties against doctors who perform abortions. Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Mississippi have passed six-week bans as well — all as part of a concerted strategy to challenge Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court and ban abortion outright.

These threats to abortion access have triggered a countermovement; in 2019, politicians in more than 25 states have introduced 86 policies that protect and expand access to abortion. In states such as New York and Illinois, advocates of reproductive rights have codified Roe — ensuring that abortion care remains a right for people in these states regardless of whether Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Already, 1 in 3 women of reproductive age lives in a state where abortion could be outlawed if Roe is overturned. That’s more than 25 million people. These bans affect all of us, but would hit the hardest on people who struggle to make ends meet: people who can’t afford to take unpaid time off work, secure child care, or cross state lines to gain access to safe and legal abortion care. While people of means might have the resources to find their way around abortion bans, far too many people — particularly people of color and LGBTQ people — won’t have options at all.

In addition to abortion bans happening in the states, the Trump-Pence administration has also tried to block patients from access to Planned Parenthood health centers, pushed to allow health care discrimination against transgender people and people who have had abortion.  They’ve also introduced a rule that would allow bosses to decide whether health insurance covers birth control, stacked the federal courts with anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ and anti-birth control judges, tried to eliminate the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, proposed a rule to eliminate protections for survivors of sexual assault, and more.

For those reasons and more, it’s crucial that we decide who stands with us. Come back on June 22 to watch the candidates answer tough questions about where they stand — or sign up to be reminded when the forum begins.

What Else Can I Do to Take Part?

Host a watch party — where reproductive rights supporters in your community can come together to watch the We Decide forum, and kick off their advocacy for reproductive health care. Advocates from all around the country will gather in homes and other locations in their communities to watch the forum; we’re hoping you’ll join us.

Everyone who registers a watch party with us will receive an invitation to debrief with us — and connect with other hosts  to celebrate successes, share learned lessons, and discuss next steps.