National Women's Health Network

A Voice For Women, A Network for Change

By Cindy Pearson, Executive Director

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasurable experience of being moved by an inspirational speech. The speaker compared our work for health care access to a battle and reminded us, that even though battles are bloody and hard, if the cause is important, the struggle is worth it. The speaker exhorted us to redouble our efforts in the final stages of the battle for health reform, and as he spoke I felt my spirits lift. I want to be part of a fight for an important cause, and I believe that access to health care is every bit as critical as the issues others fought for many years ago, including stopping child labor, creating old-age pensions, and making sure that our food is safe to eat. These are all big issues, ones that make it into the history books. I’m proud to be part of a struggle that has the potential to be in future history books and I hope you are, too!

But, I’m also working for much more than the big cause, the big battle, the victory that can be described in a paragraph or two in a history book. I’m working for access to health care that actually meets women’s needs. I’m working for a health care system that offers safe and effective treatments, reliable information, comfort when needed, interventions that work, and guidance for maintaining good health. Those benefits can’t be gained in one big bloody battle; rather, they come from the nitty-gritty, daily work that the Network has engaged in for many years — and will continue to advocate for long after everyone in the U.S. has access to health insurance.

I’ve thought a lot recently about the big battle for health reform versus the daily, nitty-gritty work on women’s health. They’re not separate, of course. In recent weeks, some high-profile women’s health issues have become something of a political football in the health reform debates. One side gives us a kick by adding brand new restrictions on women’s ability to buy private insurance that covers abortion (bad!)…then, the other side tries to kick back by adding a provision to ensure that contraceptives will be available without co-pays (good!)…but that move gets tangled up with the mammography screening controversy* and, suddenly, the government is prohibited from using science-based screening guidelines (bad!).

As these issues became part of the health reform debate, the Network was there for you. We joined with our allies in the reproductive justice movement to call for health reform that doesn’t leave women out. And, we let legislators know that more screening isn’t always good for women.

When this column is published, we may be very close to making a health reform bill the law of the land. The battle that will be described in the history books may be in its final days. But our fight for women’s health won’t stop and we hope you will continue to be engaged as we work to implement health care reform in a way that works for women’s lives and needs. Together we can make a difference.

To find out the latest on health reform and other urgent women’s health issues, visit our website, www.nwhn.org, and the website of our collaborative project, Raising Women’s Voices, www.raisingwomensvoices.net. To watch a video clip of the inspiring speech Nick Unger gave at the Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care’s annual meeting, visit http://www.cbhconline.org/index.html.

* For more on NWHN’s position on mammography screening, click here.