On the issues: Rep. Michelle Steel and Jay Chen on abortion, immigration and healthcare
This year we’re proud to commemorate International Women’s Day with a special issue. A special issue for an important cause. A cause that matters to all of us, even though many of us may not agree with the candidates we choose to write about. We hope you’ll join us.
In this issue, we look at a wide range of issues affecting the lives of women, including the impact of abortion-on-demand, pay disparities between men and women, and reproductive health.
In this issue, we’re profiling two leading champions of women and reproductive health: Rep. Michelle Steel, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Jay Chen, R-Plano. They represent a district that is diverse and often divided, but together they represent the values that help make the district strong: fiscal responsibility and working together toward a common goal. In both their personal and professional lives, they’ve been effective leaders. Their legislative work is exemplary, and their work to expand access to women’s health care is vital.
In this article, we look at Steel’s work for reproductive rights. First, her work on abortion-on-demand. It’s clear from her legislative record that she believes strongly in the right of women to control their fertility, and she often comes down on the side of women’s access to birth control. She introduced a law to prohibit abortions even in cases involving the health of the woman. And just this year, she sponsored the Free Choice Act (H.R. 3515), which would prohibit taxpayer funding for elective abortions. This is a critical piece of legislation that, like many reproductive rights bills, would go a long way toward eliminating reproductive health inequalities at all stages of a woman’s life.
In this issue, we look at Chen’s work on