Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleySan Francisco considers changing local voting age to 16 Hillicon Valley: Election officials prepare for new Russian interference battle | 'Markeyverse' of online fans helps take down a Kennedy | GOP senators unveil bill to update tech liability protections 'Markeyverse' of online fans helps take down a Kennedy MORE (D-Mass.) said she welcomed an opportunity to speak with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Elizabeth (Betsy) Dee DeVosNEA president says Azar and DeVos should resign over school reopening guidance The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - You might want to download TikTok now Former DeVos chief of staff joins anti-Trump group MORE face-to-face Thursday, following the secretary's comments comparing the debate over abortion rights to ending slavery in America.

“Dear Betsy,” Pressley tweeted Thursday. “As a Black woman & the Chair of the abortion access task force, I invite you to come by the Hill and say this to my face.”

“Would welcome the opportunity to educate you,” Pressley continued.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dear Betsy,



As a Black woman & the Chair of the abortion access task force, I invite you to come by the Hill and say this to my face.



Would welcome the opportunity to educate you.



Regards,

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley https://t.co/Yx2EToUdLI — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) January 24, 2020

DeVos made the comparison while speaking at an event for Colorado Christian University in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, saying that opposition to abortion reminded her of the ending of slavery during former President Lincoln’s administration, according to media reports.

“[Lincoln] too contended with the pro-choice arguments of his day. They suggested that a state’s choice to be slave or to be free had no moral question in it,” DeVos said, the Colorado Times Recorder first reported.

“Well, President Lincoln reminded those pro-choicers that is a vast portion of the American people that do not look upon that matter as being this very little thing. They look upon it as a vast moral evil,” she said.

“Lincoln was right about the slavery 'choice' then, and he would be right about the life 'choice' today," she continued. “Because as it’s been said: Freedom is not about doing what we want. Freedom is about having the right to do what we ought.”

The comparison between abortion and slavery has been made for decades by pro-choice opponents. Last year, Mike Shirkey, a Michigan state senator, drew ire from his Democratic colleagues for saying abortion is comparable to “the scourge we endured when we still had slavery in this country.”

Last year, Pressley lauded Massachusetts activists fighting to enact the ROE Act, which would “improve youth access to abortion and ensure coverage for abortion regardless of income or immigration status,” in addition to codifying other abortion protections, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Even in states like the commonwealth of Massachusetts, which I represent, individuals, particularly low-income and young people, LGBTQ and black and brown folks continue to face barriers in accessing comprehensive reproductive health care. And let me be clear – health care is abortion care,” Pressley said from the House at the time.

ADVERTISEMENT