When I was elected to Congress, I became the first woman to ever represent Michigan’s 11th District. Since coming to Washington, I have worked to protect a woman’s right to an abortion, and championed the cause of full equality for women under the law, including legislation fighting for equal pay and to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

I unequivocally support a woman’s right to choose and have been endorsed each year I have been in Congress by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Abortion IS healthcare and all women must be able to make the decision that is best for them and their families.

If Roe is overturned by the United States Supreme Court, any abortion will immediately be illegal in the state of Michigan. This is horrifying and unacceptable. Even as I had millions of dollars spent against me through Republican attacks, I voted twice in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act to codify Roe v. Wade. Now more than ever, as the right to an abortion is under attack across the nation, we need pro-choice women in Congress who will never stop fighting to defend the right to choose.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women, with women leaving the workforce at record rates. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a federal paid leave policy, and this pandemic has shown us the consequences of that choice. This is not just a “women’s issue”, it is an economic one. When women are forced to leave the workforce, the effects on our economy are devastating. This is why I have been one of the leading Congressional champions in the fight for Paid Leave for All.

Nationally, women are paid 80 cents for every $1 a man is paid. In Michigan, women make only 78 cents to every $1 for men. The numbers are even worse for women of color. According to a National Partnership for Women & Families study, black women in Michigan make 63 cents for every $1 a man is paid, and Latina women make only 58 cents. This is unacceptable. As a proud cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, I have been and will always be a strong advocate for equal pay for women.

Since coming to Congress, I have been a champion for STEM education and oversaw the House passage of the bipartisan National Science Foundation For the Future Act in 2021. The bill puts forth a suite of sweeping proposals – from scaling up PreK-12 STEM education research innovations to modernizing higher education student training. I am a founding member of the House Women in STEM Caucus and have introduced numerous bills aimed at leveling the playing field for women in science and technology.

EMILY’s List has taken notice of my work in Congress to champion women and girls and I am honored to have had their endorsement in every one of my Congressional races.