Can a bus full of West Virginians help change the country?

Damn straight, it can.  And in the coming days, we will find out just how much.

Last Thursday just before 2 a.m., I boarded a bus in a deserted parking lot in Charleston, WV, along with a dozen or so other people.  We bumped along through the night (ahh, there’s nothing like a late-night/early-morning bus ride on aging mountain roads), stopping once in Morgantown to pick up another half dozen folks, before we continued over the mountains and through the valleys.  We pulled into Washington, DC, just after 9 a.m.  We got little, if any, sleep that night, but we hopped off the bus, excited and energized.  We were in our nation’s capitol, and we were going to meet with our Senators and Congresspeople, and rally with thousands of other women’s rights and reproductive and sexual health advocates.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t sleep a minute that night, and I barely slept the night before.  I was tired, stressed and, like most of you, frustrated and disappointed about the seemingly unfathomable situation we were in (Really?  We are still fighting for birth control?).  But the people on that bus inspired me; they gave me energy…and hope.  We, if I do say so, were amazing.  We were in our twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and seventies.  We were women and men.  We were pastors and activists; moms, dads and grandparents; health care providers,attorneys and scientists; professional advocates and first-timers; friends and strangers.  And we were all West Virginians.  West Virginians who care about women’s health and recognize the importance of essential community providers like Planned Parenthood, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia and other Title X funded health care centers.

(Some of the West Virginia group after the rally)

We spent the day–after initially hustling past a couple of extreme anti-choicers and their graphic and misleading propaganda– meeting with the West Virginia delegation and talking about the importance of women’s health and the basic, lifesaving care provided by Planned Parenthood and other essential community providers across the U.S. and in the Mountain State.  Senator Rockefeller’s staff met with the whole group, while staff of Senator Manchin, Congresswoman Capito and Congressman McKinley met with smaller groups.  Sen. Rockefeller’s, Sen. Manchin’s and Congresswoman Capito’s staff took the time to listen to our stories, consider the facts, answer our questions and address our concerns.

The Stand Up For Women’s Health Rally on the National Mall was a highlight of the day.  If you’ve never seen a sea of pink “I Stand With Planned Parenthood” shirts and “Don’t Take Away My Cancer Screenings” placards filling the lawn in front of the Capitol, you are missing a beautiful sight (seriously).  By the time our group got there, the rally was in full swing, but we heard rousing comments from Congresswoman Dianna DeGette; actors Ed Harris, Connie Britton and David Eigenberg; Wade Henderson of the Leadership Council on Civil & Human Rights; Anthony Romero of the ACLU; and Planned Parenthood patients.

All in all, it was an inspiring and incredible day.  We traveled more than 750 miles roundtrip in just under 24 hours to get a total of 60 minutes with four of our five Congressional representatives.  It was worth every minute.  The next day, Congress agreed to a budget bill to fund the federal government through the end of Fiscal year 2011 in September.  That budget bill does not eliminate the Title X family planning program or bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding for preventive care.  Thanks to the dedication of the people on that bus–and on all of you who have called your Senators, written your Representatives and told your friends and family about this unprecedented attack on women–funding for basic health care for millions of women, men and teens is safe…for now.

Fringe members of Congress–politicians who want to overturn Roe v. Wade and who clearly do not care about women or their families–have not and will not give up.  Both the House and Senate will vote on a separate bill this week to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding for preventive health care.  These extreme members of the GOP are committed, not to creating jobs, fixing the deficit or improving the economy, but to denying millions of women birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

I am hopeful, although not certain (how sad is that?), that common sense and compassion, as well as the stories of patients, concerns of bus riders, and calls and letters of Mountaineers everywhere will give West Virginia’s representatives the courage to stand down those who do not value women’s lives and to stand up for the women and families of West Virginia and across America.

***Stay tuned.  We will let you know whether your representatives stands up for women or steps aside for those who would rather let women get sick and die.***