EMILY's List
Two words for Congressman Stupak: Thank you
By Stephanie Schriock on 03/08/2010 @ 11:54 AM
I have two words for Cong. Bart Stupak today, and I promise they're not sarcastic: Thank you!
Thank you for reminding me, and millions of young women around the country, that our reproductive rights are negotiable.
Thank you for waking me from the complacency I had regarding my own rights.
Thank you for reminding me that there are members of Congress dedicated solely to political success over the good of society as a whole.
And thank you showing me that there are members of Congress who aren't -- especially the pro-choice Democratic women in the House and Senate who fight so hard for us.
I'm sure you know Cong. Stupak is back, threatening to take health care hostage. Despite the rejection of his initial proposal to restrict women's rights in the health care bill, Cong. Stupak isn't about to go down quietly. He's joining with 11 other anti-choice Democrats in the House to vote against health care unless they get their way with more restrictions on women’s reproductive rights.
Attacking women's reproductive freedom for your own political gain and stopping health care for all is just plain wrong.
So why do I thank Mr. Stupak? For inspiration.
I made the decision to change course and come to EMILY's List, at least in part, because I had the unfortunate opportunity to watch him in action this fall, proposing a drastic change to current legislation -- a change that would have gone further than any previous federal law to restrict access to abortion.
I got fired up. And I decided to get involved.
Because there's nothing as infuriating as working for Congress and watching up-close as a male congressman takes the lead on an issue like this one, advocating to restrict women's rights.
More inspiring still?
Watching the Democratic women members of the House and Senate line up to head to the floor together, united in their fight to protect reproductive rights -- in addition to making sure women don't pay more than men for health care and have access to necessary preventative measures like mammograms. I was incredibly proud to watch them then, and I'm prouder still to be part of the EMILY's List team now to work for their re-elections and trying to get them some extra hands.
As we celebrate International Women's Day today, we are reminded why it is so important that we stand up for women in the us and around the world. And we must do everything we can to fight back against this outrageous assault on choice, because there's too much at stake for us to sit this one out.
So, Cong. Stupak, if you happen to come across this post, take heart in knowing that your assault on women's rights hasn’t just been divisive, or obstructive, or even infuriating. It's also been inspiring. Because now I'm more committed than ever to electing the women who will make our democracy more representative for all of us.
Now, I admit this might be sarcastic, but I'm sure that's exactly what you were hoping for.
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