So in case you haven’t heard, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) is retiring from Congress when his term expires in January. When the news broke this morning, feminists rejoiced. (Republicans and Tea Party activists are ecstatic, too, but that’s another story, one that other people are much more qualified to talk about.)
Personally, I am thrilled Stupak is retiring, but unlike many feminists, I see this as more than a victory for women and reproductive rights. It is a victory for the people that Stupak was elected to represent: the residents of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. (After this, I’ll refer to 1st Congressional District as CD1.) CD1 encompasses the entirety of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and several counties in the Lower Peninsula. (Apparently, the mitten part is called the Lower Peninsula. Who knew?) He was not elected to represent the residents of the C Street house, the religious organization known as The Family, the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops or the anti-choice movement.
Obviously, Stupak was and is free to vote according to his conscience and convictions. Since we live in a democracy, that is one of our founding principles. Another one of our founding principles is a representative government. When Stupak became the de facto leader of the anti-choicers in the House and nearly killed health care reform over the issue of abortion, he was no longer representing the CD1. Stupak put the needs if the “pro-life” movement ahead of his own constituents.
CD1 residents didn’t need an anti-abortion activist to advocate for them in the health care debate. They needed their member of Congress. The 118,000 seniors on Medicare who live in CD1 needed a representative working to close the so-called “donut hole” that can sometimes cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month. 324,000 women needed him to make sure that maternal and preventative health care is covered. Since the district is extremely rural, with the largest town having a population of 20,916, residents across the CD1 needed him to work on improving Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates for rural doctors and providing other much needed assistance to rural medical providers.
In short, Bart Stupak failed residents of the 1st Congressional District. They deserve better. Whether his successor is a Democrat or Republican, I hope they get it.
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