Issue Position: Women's Issues

Issue Position

Congressman Conyers is dedicated to combating violence against women and protecting a woman's right to choose.

Congressman Conyers recognizes that domestic violence affects every citizen in every community and that it is an equal opportunity crime. Domestic violence happens in the inner cities as well as in suburban neighborhoods. It happens to people regardless of race, age, and income. Statistics show that domestic violence occurs at a startling frequency. 1.5 million women will likely be raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner this year. Every 12 to 15 minutes there is a beating. And approximately every 27 minutes a murder occurs. Such crimes not only have devastating consequences for the victims, but also for their families and society as a whole.

Congressman Conyers has been a key player in increasing funding, resources and awareness about violence against women and enacting tougher domestic violence laws. In the 106th Congress, Congressman Conyers played a central role in re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act and was a primary sponsor of H.R. 1248, which continued funding for programs such as law enforcement and prosecution grants to combat violence against women, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, battered women's shelters and services, education and training for judges and court personnel, and rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement programs.

Although re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the enactment of a law to create an independent Violence Against Women Office have raised awareness of the issue of domestic violence, it was only one step toward the elimination of violence in our society. In the 108th Congress, Congressman Conyers continues to fight on Capitol Hill for more protections for women. For example, he has introduced the the Violence Against Women Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2003, which will restore the ability of victims of gender-motivated violence to seek justice in federal court.

Congressman Conyers also has consistently fought Republican efforts to turn back the clock on Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose. He has vehemently opposed anti choice bills, such as the so-called "partial birth" abortion ban, which puts politics before the health of women, and the Child Custody Protection Act, which requires young women to carry the burden of their state's parental consent laws with them across state lines.

Congressman Conyers has also opposed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which fails to protect women from violence, but seeks to change the legal status of embryos and fetuses by recognizing them as victims of a federal crime, separate from the woman. Congressman Conyers has cosponsored a substitute bill with Congresswoman Lofgren that would actually protect pregnant women by creating a new, separate offense for violative or assaultive conduct against a pregnant woman that interrupts or terminates her pregnancy. The Conyers-Lofgren substitute does not conflict with Roe v. Wade because it recognized the woman as the primary victim of an assault and does not create new and separate rights for the fetus. However, this substitute has been defeated by anti-choice members in every Congress in which it has been offered.

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