Educate Congress Campaign
About the Campaign
From what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape is] really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
-Former Rep. Todd Akin, Aug. 19, 2012
That wildly inaccurate statement sparked a sex-ed road trip to Missouri to deliver "Our Bodies, Ourselves" to then-Rep. Todd Akin and Sen. Claire McCaskill (equal-opportunity delivery!).
Akin wasn’t the only politician who had his facts wrong; a string of inaccurate comments about women’s bodies followed in the fall of 2012, prompting numerous debates on the politics of women's healthcare.
Even more concerning is the fact that legislators frequently vote on bills that affect reproductive health, taking on difficult issues that have a very real impact on women and families. Yet those bills are not always based on the best available scientific evidence.
Readers suggested sending "Our Bodies, Ourselves" -- a valued resource used in healthcare clinics and academic courses across the country -- to every member of Congress.
The Educate Congress campaign launched on Indiegogo.com, a crowdsourced fundraising site, with a simple premise: Everyone deserves access to accurate information concerning women’s reproductive and sexual health – especially those who write the laws.
In early 2013, OBOS delivered books to all members of the U.S. House and Senate. Judy Norsigian, OBOS founder and executive director, made a number of deliveries in person. Read about Judy's visit to Capitol Hill, accompanied by Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts, and Erin Thornton, EMC executive director.
Help Fund Information Interventions: Send "Our Bodies, Ourselves"
Visit OurBodiesOurselves.org/support to help OBOS continue efforts to provide state legislators, educational leaders, and other public officials with accurate, evidence-based information about girls' and women's reproductive and sexual health.
|
