House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Tuesday she didn't support a litmus test for Democrats to support abortion rights, adding she gets "some heat" for not pushing for ideological purity on that issue.
During a question-and-answer session at Georgetown University, Pelosi said she would support a pro-life Democrat over a pro-life Republican in a hypothetical matchup, in favor of the broader goal of getting her party the majority.
"I get some heat for not saying everybody has to be this. When the day comes when we can say, 'We don't want any of our voters to be anti-choice,' then I think we have the right to say that we don't want any of our candidates to be anti-choice," Pelosi said.
She added it might be a "touchy" issue at Georgetown and other Catholic campuses. Pelosi has frequently had to explain being both a devout Catholic and pro-choice, given the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion.
"God gave us all a free will, our sense of responsibility to answer for that, so I am a rabid supporter of a woman's right to choose," she said.
Pelosi gave the example of her support for pro-life Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.) in his primary fight last month, for which she also said she took "heat."
"We will have a pro-choice gavel when we win the Congress," she said. "We need to have at least 218 votes to achieve that, so this isn't a pragmatic decision. It's just a respectful decision."
"Having said no litmus test, it’s a very high priority for us to protect a woman’s right to choose," she added.
Democratic National Committee Perez said last year that "every Democrat" should support abortion rights, but Pelosi said at the time there was room for pro-life Democrats, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D., N.M.) said there would be no litmus test for candidates.