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Pete Stark on Women's Issues
Pete Stark is unequivocal in his support for protecting women's reproductive health. It is a sad statement of the times and the willingness of the right wing to play political games with women’s lives that the right to unbiased, scientifically accurate sex education; birth control; and compassionate, comprehensive care for rape victims is in jeopardy. Pete is working to enact legislation that would:
- Require hospitals to provide the option of emergency contraception (also known as the “morning after” pill) to rape victims;
- require health insurance companies to provide coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs;
- require that federally funded sex education programs be medically accurate;
- and, require pharmacies to fill any legal prescription.
While these policies would greatly reduce the need for abortion, Pete believes that the decision to have an abortion should be made by the woman concerned -- not by anyone else, and certainly not by politicians. He opposes any government effort to limit a woman's freedom of choice to have or not have an abortion.
For his commitment to economic and social justice, Pete consistently receives top ratings from the National Organization for Women, American Association of University Women, and the Children’s Defense Fund. Pete supports legislation to ensure equal pay for equal work, efforts to strengthen child support enforcement, domestic violence prevention, and has written legislation to require that workers get paid during family and medical leave.
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