Issue Position: Women's Rights

Issue Position

Jim Himes: A Proud Advocate for Women

Jim Himes has established himself as a proud advocate for women's rights. He supported Health Care Reform, fights against violations of women's reproductive rights, and has helped pass legislation to guarantee equal pay and economic opportunities for woman. Jim is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut.

Health Care

Women experience some of the greatest cost and care disparities in our current health care system, and Jim has worked hard to establish policies that reverse that trend.

* Jim Himes voted for health care reform which requires insurance companies to cover breast and cervical cancer screenings and no longer consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition.

* Jim supports federal funding for reproductive health care and Jim is working to require health insurers to provide coverage for contraception. Himes has also fought and will continue to fight for research on gender and health disparities and to establish outreach programs in underserved communities.

Reproductive Freedom

Jim Himes is a firm believer that women should hold the sole rights to their reproductive choices, without interference from politicians or government.

* The Congressman supports comprehensive family planning services and making methods of contraception more easily available.

* Jim Himes is working to pass the Freedom of Choice Act which will uphold the reproductive rights protections in Roe v. Wade and ensure the reproductive freedom of all future generations.

* Jim Himes is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut while his opponent voted against requiring hospitals to provide access to emergency contraception for rape victims.

Equal Pay and Economic Opportunity

Women still only make 77 cents to every dollar a man earns for the same job, and Jim Himes is committed to reversing this injustice.

* Jim helped pass the Lily Ledbetter Act, signed into law soon after he entered Congress, which guarantees that equal work is compensated by equal pay regardless of gender. The Congressman supports the increase of penalties for wage discrimination on the basis of sex and believes in prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees who share their salary information with other employees.

* Jim helped secure $250,000 in federal funding so that the Stamford Women's Business Development Center could expand its services to more women.

* Jim has helped local women-owned businesses apply for the necessary certifications to secure federal and state contracts.

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