DNC chair says all Democrats must support abortion rights

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez caused some controversy after he declared on Friday that all Democrats should be pro-choice with no exceptions.

"Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman's right to make her own choices about her body and her health," Perez said in a statement, according to Life News.

"That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state. That is why I will be convening women leaders from across the country in the next week on how we can make sure our Democratic candidates and elected leaders are living up to these fundamental values," he added.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who supports the DNC's pro-abortion stance, disagreed with Perez and said that she has served many years in the Congress with other Democratic politicians who do not share her pro-choice views.

Perez's statement came after NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue criticized the DNC for supporting Heath Mello, a Democratic mayoral candidate in Omaha, Nebraska and a former state legislator with a pro-life voting record.

As senator, Mello had supported several pro-life measures, including a bill that requires abortion facilities to inform women about their right to request a list of places to get a free ultrasound.

Last week, several Democrats including DNC Deputy Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) expressed their support for the former senator at the DNC "Unity Tour."

"The actions today by the DNC to embrace and support a candidate for office who will strip women — one of the most critical constituencies for the party — of our basic rights and freedom is not only disappointing, it is politically stupid," Hogue said in a statement, as reported by Fox News.

Sanders, an independent who ran in the Democratic presidential primary, noted that intraparty differences on abortion were natural. He explained that a candidate in a Southern state could not be expected to have similar values as a candidate in a liberal, coastal state.

Mello had reportedly backtracked on his pro-life stance and vowed that he will not do anything to restrict access to reproductive health care, including abortions. However, the former senator maintained that he remains "personally pro-life."

Last summer, Democrats for Life Director Kristen Day warned that the party is potentially losing voters because it has ostracized pro-life Democrats. The group has estimated that there are more than 23 million pro-life Democrats in the United States.