Bernie Sanders continues to cater to and hunt for the white working class, particularly the male part of it. He apparently concluded that Democrats should do that based on the statistics collected about Trump voters in the last election. Many of those voters were members of that class, no question. But should the Democrats sell out half the women in the United States to get those men’s votes?

Bernie’s message is incomplete. He seems to have forgotten that approximately 57% of all women in this country work. He also seems to have forgotten that while 79% of the American labor force is white, that means 21% is not.

Senator Sanders is so focused on his message of economic inequality and his righteous (and valid) indignation at Wall Street and the Davos crowd that he ignores (worse, dismisses) what are called “social issues,” which include abortion rights, immigration rights and civil rights for non-whites, non-able-bodied, non-churched and non-heterosexual. It’s a blind spot the party as a whole can’t set aside.

Being pro-choice is not an optional part of being a progressive. Full stop. There is no justice for women, there is no economic justice for women, without the right to control their reproductive lives. The right to have an abortion is not a “social issue.” It is an issue of fundamental rights; it is a matter of economic rights. One is not a progressive if not pro-choice.

Democrats have to support women’s choices, just as they support men’s choices. Unreservedly. Without question.