No doubt you heard that we have a member of Congress running for Senate who has made national headlines for his outrageous comments about “legitimate rape.” Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise to those of us who serve in the Congress. We have watched as the Republican majority has tried to deny the right to choose even to the victims of rape and to women whose lives may be placed in jeopardy. They even pushed for legislation to deny aid to hospitals that perform abortions even to save the life of the mother. And, this doesn’t include the number of times they’ve tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a bill which banned the practice of charging a woman more for health care than a man, among other benefits for women’s health.
Earlier this year we learned of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on birth control coverage where the Republican majority called a panel of five witnesses to testify. None were women.
They have refused to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act and, even after the Senate passed a bill to prevent the Violence Against Women Act from expiring, the House Republican Leadership refused to bring it up for a vote.
History has shown that the inclusion of women at all levels of government has been an essential ingredient in that progress.
For example, as late as 1991, women were not included in any of the clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. It wasn’t until there was a critical mass of women in Congress pointing out the obvious flaws in this practice, that it was changed. And, it was women legislators who were able to make certain that diseases like osteoporosis, cervical cancer, uterine cancer and others received serious attention.
I’ve seen this in my own work on the House Armed Services Committee. It is in large part thanks to the women on the committee, who work on this issue every year, that we have seen some movement by the military to change its practices and its culture to be more favorable towards the increasing numbers of women serving.
These challenges and examples crystallize just how important it is to have women in power at the national and international level. When more women are involved in the process of change, more of the issues that affect women and families as a whole are addressed.
We are fortunate to have an extraordinary Senate candidate here in Massachusetts who has a chance to make history by becoming the first woman to serve in the Senate from Massachusetts.
It’s shocking to believe that in 2012 we’d still be debating how to best protect women’s health. We can recommit to the pioneering suffragettes and all of those who broke glass ceilings before us by electing Elizabeth Warren to the United States Senate and giving the critical mass of women in Congress another forceful and effective voice for change.
Niki Tsongas
U.S. House of Representatives
Fifth District of Massachusetts
