As a Tea Party candidate for Congress in 2010, Allen West (R-FL) promised South Florida voters a representative focused on creating jobs and rebuilding the state’s bad economy – a promise he repeated time and again on the campaign trail.
Instead, Allen West took up an agenda that trampled on women’s health.
In January 2011, days after taking office, West teamed up with anti-women’s health leader Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to propose legislation to eliminate comprehensive private health insurance coverage for women. Then, he joined Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) in an attempt to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from providing preventive health care like cancer screenings and birth control through federal programs.
Still, no jobs plan.
Amid his anti-women’s health crusade, West did find time to draft an e-mail to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), calling her “vile," "unprofessional," "despicable," and "not a Lady.” This should not surprise anyone considering that before running for Congress, West contributed to a Florida magazine that called women “oral relief stations.”
Seriously.
West’s antics, rhetoric, and voting record have earned him a zero percent pro-women’s health record from Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
He was elected to Congress under the promise to create jobs for the folks in South Florida. Instead, he has pursued an ideological, dangerous, and sexist agenda.
And with your help, we can send him packing.
There are several pro-women advocates exploring a run against West in 2012. We need your help to show our support for these candidates and show West that words and actions have consequences; that access to health care isn’t a matter of ideology.
Women won’t stand for it, and we’re watching.
Key Anti-Women’s Health Votes
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voted “YES” on the so called “Pence amendment” to block Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving funding to offer preventive health care services such as lifesaving cancer screenings, contraception, and well-woman exams
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