Emily's List Celebrates Clout as It Turns 20

Pro-Abortion-Rights Candidates Championed

By Chris Cillizza
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, October 18, 2005; Page A13

Two decades ago, Ellen Malcolm started Emily's List with the single-minded goal of electing more pro-abortion-rights women to state and federal offices.

She had nowhere to go but up. In the halls of Congress, only 12 of the 435 House seats were occupied by Democratic women, and no Democratic woman had been elected to the Senate except to fill an unexpired term. The headquarters of Emily's List was a humble space otherwise known as Malcolm's basement.