On health care, women can’t get a word in edgewise
Written by WCF Fellow Kayla
What’s the answer we get from male Congressmen about the importance of health care reform to women? “I object.”
This past Saturday, members of the House Democratic Woman’s Caucus took the floor to speak out in favor of the health care bill because of its benefits for women.
They were greeted with nothing but bullying. Or, as ThinkProgress puts it, “Screams, Shouts, And Delay Tactics.”
Congresswoman after Congresswoman stood at the podium demanding health care for the sake of reproductive health choices for women. Again and again, Republicans interrupted every member of the women’s caucus—objecting over and over to their plea for health care for women.
Eventually it got to the point where none of the members of the women’s caucus could speak because they were interrupted so frequently and treated so unfairly.
These attacks on members of the female caucus demonstrate why we so desperately need women in office. We need women to stand up for women’s rights and stand up for women’s reproductive health choices.
We need women to be elected to Congress so they can stand up together against abusive men in the House and demand equal rights. Because apparently, it takes a woman to stand up for women’s rights.
Tags: congress, health care reform, reproductive choices, video, women interrupted, women's rights
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November 9th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Kayla. There are 4.1 million more women in the US than men; however, because we are GROSSLY underrepresented in Congress, we are continually SILENCED by the majority of cowardly men who sing the same tune over and over: “Treating women fairly is going to cost ME money, so I don’t want women to be treated fairly.” We must work together as women to demand our rights.
Sincerely,
Rosanne Ferreri-Feske, CEO
The New US Woman, http://www.thenewuswoman.com
November 9th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Thanks for the comment Rosanne - it’s so sad but true. And the stories of sexism and misogyny seem to just get buried and forgotten - deemed unimportant. We have to keep speaking out to make sure women’s voices aren’t ignored!
November 10th, 2009 at 2:30 am
The right to choose abortion is being gutted despite having an allegedly feminist President and heavy Democratic control of both houses of Congress. The Speaker of the House is a woman who could have insisted that this bill not further erode the right to choose, but party politics being what they are, she had to go along with the priority of her party, which is getting health insurance reform passed, and if the right to choose for poor women has to be sacrificed, so be it. Perhaps it takes a feminist party to stand up for women’s rights.
November 14th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
[...] forbidding a legal medical procedure for the weakest members of society, and in general pushing a disgusting misogynist worldview. But Stupak is not a Republican. He is a Democrat, and his amendment to the bill was included, with [...]