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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Do pro-choice groups rate the 2020 ticket more positively than other recent Democratic nominees?

Saturday, August 15, 2020

By Allegra Taylor

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Democratic presidential and vice presidential nominees since 2008 have all had Senate voting records solidly in line with the positions of two major pro-choice lobbying groups, with the exception of Joe Biden. In his last two years in the Senate, Biden received scores of 100% and 75%. Earlier in a long Senate career Biden had mixed support from the groups. As recently as 2003, he earned a score of 36% from NARAL Pro-Choice America, although the group now expresses complete support for him against Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris since joining the Senate has voted on four bills related to abortion and reproduction, earning her a rating of 100% from both groups. Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine generally received scores of 100% on their legislative voting records as determined by the groups.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Planned Parenthood Action Fund: Congressional scorecard

NARAL Pro Choice America: Congressional record on choice

NARAL: Endorsement of Joe Biden

Catholic News Agency: Joe Biden endorsed by pro-abortion NARAL

Vote Smart: Kamala Harris ratings on issues

Vote Smart: Joe Biden ratings on issues

PolitiFact: Obama voted consistently for abortion rights

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.