December 10, 2009
Newjerseynewsroom.com
Susie Wilson

SEX MATTERS
Some women like to go shopping when they want a break from their busy lives; others like to lunch. Not me. I like to lobby. In particular, I like to lobby my Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., on causes I care about.

I love the give and take of reasonable argument and discussion; I like learning facts; I like testing my ideas; I like to plant the seed of change in another person's mind or heart; I like to understand the reasons why they oppose my views; I like to try to make a difference in the formation of public policy.

Last week was a banner one for me. I went to Washington, D.C., with eight friends to participate in National Lobby Day to "Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban," organized by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and other women's reproductive health and rights groups after the passage of the House of Representatives' bill containing the Stupak amendment.

The amendment would prohibit millions of women from purchasing health insurance coverage that includes abortion in the new exchanges, even with their own money.
The day's purpose: for women across the nation to lobby their Senators to "Pass Health Care and Stop Stupak!" and to ensure that language similar to the Stupak amendment would not be included in the Senate bill.

The organizers didn't want anti-choice groups to use abortion coverage as a way to hijack health care reform. They wanted to counter with their own overwhelmingly female lobbying force. (After all, women do hold up half the sky.)

As we sat on the early morning train from Trenton to Washington, my friends and I agreed that we supported the passage of health care reform legislation to cover the millions of Americans who have no insurance and to reduce the ever-growing health care cost burden on our economy.

But we also agreed that we did not want this bill hijacked by anti-choice forces and new restrictions placed on a woman's right to choose.

The energy in the auditorium of the Dirksen Senate Office Building could have lit the White House Christmas tree without a switch. The room was brightened by Planned Parenthood staffers' pink T-shirts proclaiming "Health Care for Every Community." We picked up a packet of papers, pasted "Pass Health Care! Stop Stupak!" stickers on our chests, and attended one of several Lobby Day trainings. We learned the essentials of lobbying in a nutshell: "Be Concise, Compelling, Relevant, and Credible."

Cecile Richards, the friendly, low-keyed president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, thanked us all for coming. She told us that we represented every region of the nation and that busloads had come from as far away as Maine, Wisconsin, and "the deep South."

The morning speakers were diverse: African-American women, Latina women, old women, young women, and even a smattering of men. I most appreciated the fiery Billie Avery, a longtime grassroots organizer for black women's health, who urged us to tell our legislators that "women demand to have control over our own bodies. ... If they turn their back upon their female constituents, you tell them, ‘You are in danger of losing your base.' "

Luckily, we caught Senator Frank Lautenberg as he left his office for a meeting on the health care legislation; he stopped and greeted us warmly. He knew why we were clustered outside his door: our stickers spoke volumes. Always a friend of reproductive choice over his many years of public service, he didn't have to tell us his position on the bill. But he said that we would meet with his aide on health care and she would pass along all our ideas.

We were joined by another group of women from the Center for Reproductive Rights who work in New York City, but live and vote in New Jersey. Together we urged Senator Lautenberg's legislative assistant and counsel, Veronica Veldivieso, to relay to him our hope that he would ensure that the Stupak language was not incorporated into the final bill. Veldivieso told us that the Senator's mail was pretty evenly balanced between those favoring and opposing Stupak, proof that lobbying is a two-way street.
Overall, we felt pleased with our conversation with Senator Lautenberg's aide and went off to join the noon rally. I estimated that there were close to a thousand people taking part in Lobby Day, a number later confirmed by Planned Parenthood. The speakers-including members of Congress and the House-continued to fill us with energy and excitement about our presence.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California assured us that "we will win." She branded the Stupak amendment "radical" and predicted that if it were included in the final legislation, it would "result in the biggest rollback of women's rights in three decades."

She added: "We must expand access to health care, not restrict it. Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, and the Stupak amendment wants to chip away at it."

The rally over, we left for our meeting with Senator Robert Menendez, who has a reputation for solid support of reproductive health issues. Jackie Cornell-Bechelli of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey reminded us that Senator Menendez had received an annual 100 percent rating on his voting record from Planned Parenthood during his political career.

Menendez's words to us were upbeat. As a member of the Finance Committee, he knows the particulars of the Senate bill being debated on the floor. He told us that health care legislation, when passed, will "bend the cost curve, end insurance rejection for pre-existing conditions, end discrimination based on gender, and cover 31 million more Americans who are presently not covered." He also assured us that "we will win" and there will be no Stupak amendment language in the final Senate bill.

But Senator Menendez framed his final words carefully and with caution: "Let's hear your voices. Gin it up. Write Letters to the Editor in your newspapers – the opposition is very good at doing this – and keep your eye on the destination." He ended by quoting the wise words of Adlai Stevenson, twice the Democratic candidate for president: "When I feel the heat from home, I see the light in Washington."

It was damp and rainy when we left the marble halls of the Capitol and headed for the train back to New Jersey. We felt elated with the process and by the progress of the day. A small band of women, we had joined a thousand others, walked up and down the corridors noting the offices of Senators from many regions of our nation, listened in a large group to one of our Senators, and chatted briefly with the other. Both had listened with politeness and patience and had reassured us that the chances for the issue about which we cared deeply looked good.

I personally came away with a renewed sense of respect for our democracy and its tradition of letting every voice be heard. I thought to myself: "Indeed, we are a nation of laws, and all of us have a voice in shaping them, if we will use it. ... We are a country ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.' "

On Dec. 8th, the Senate by a vote of 55-45 rejected the anti-choice Nelson-Hatch amendment, which would have added the Stupak language to the health care reform bill under debate. Planned Parenthood Federation of America called it a "huge 
victory."

Let's hear it for the women who lobby.

Susie Wilson, former executive coordinator of the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers University's Center for Applied and Professional Psychology (now renamed Answer), is a national leader in the fight for effective sexuality and HIV/AIDS education and for prevention of adolescent pregnancy. She can be reached at susie.wilson@comcast.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .