Women Bringing the “Human Element” to the Hill: (D) Speier’s Bold Move!

It is about time that a politician GETS REAL! And low and behold it was a woman that championed the “human element” on the Hill last night. As painful as it may have been, California Democrat Jackie Speier, showed the utmost courage and passion when she shared her PERSONAL STORY!

“Before she took the floor, New Jersey Republican Chris Smith used his time to graphically describe the process of an abortion. That’s when Speier decided to scrap her planned remarks. “That procedure that you just talk about was a procedure that I endured,” she told a hushed chamber. In an interview with HuffPost’s Elise Foley, Speier elaborated, “As the night wore on, the vitriol and grotesque commentary got worse and worse…I sat there thinking, none of these men on the other side have even come close to experiencing this, and yet they can pontificate about what it’s like. It just overwhelmed me.” Speier underwent a dilation and evacuation at 17 weeks into her pregnancy in her early 40s, while she was serving in the California Assembly in the 1990s, because medical difficulties made it impossible to continue the pregnancy. The procedure used was the same type that Smith’s book described. As she listened, Speier said she became more emotional and made the decision to speak out. “This was a wanted pregnancy, it was the second miscarriage I had had…What they express doesn’t come close to the experience that a woman goes through when she is losing a baby or when a pregnancy is terminated. It’s a painful, gut-wrenching loss.” (Huffington Post)

Regardless of which side of this argument you are on, you can’t help but to commend Speier’s comments that brought the reality of every day life into the chambers on Capitol Hill! Bravo Speier for being brave enough to bring reality and humaness back to the Hill! You are a true government ROCKSTAR!