Highlights of Senator Boxer's Record Supporting Women

Senator Barbara Boxer was first elected in 1992 at a time when there were only two women out of 100 Senators. Californians made history that year as the first state to elect two women to represent them in the U.S. Senate. Senator Boxer understands firsthand the advances women have made and the distance we have to travel to full equality. One of her top priorities in the Senate has been improving the lives of women in America and around the world.

Fighting to Maintain a Woman’s Right to Choose: Senator Boxer is recognized as the Senate’s leader in the fight to protect a woman’s right to choose – so that reproductive decisions stay out of the hands of government and remain between a woman and her doctor.

Senator Boxer led the fight in the Senate to overturn the global gag rule, which prohibited international aid organizations that received money from the federal government from using their own privately-raised funds to provide abortion counseling and services.

Senator Boxer successfully fought an amendment that would have prohibited doctors who perform abortions from receiving any federal funds, including funds to provide health care for the elderly, the poor, and children.

Senator Boxer led the fight in the Senate against legislation that would ban a late-term abortion procedure even when needed to protect the health and lives of women.

Senator Boxer opposed a bill that would have made it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent – including a trusted adult relative – to take a minor across state lines to obtain a legal abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.

Senator Boxer introduced legislation to repeal a dangerous and draconian provision added to an appropriations bill in 2004 that would have denied a state all federal education and health care funding if it took certain steps to ensure a woman’s access to abortion services and referrals for abortion services.

Senator Boxer successfully fought an attempt to inject the abortion issue – codifying President Bush’s “unborn child” regulation – into a bipartisan bill to provide health care for uninsured children.

Expanding Reproductive Health Services for Women: Senator Boxer is committed to seeing that women have a full range of reproductive health care services to protect women’s health and to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies.

Senator Boxer has called for an increase in funding for the federal Title X program, which provides funding for family planning services.

She supports legislation requiring health insurance policies to cover prescription contraceptives and has authorized legislation to ensure that pharmacies fulfill a woman’s prescription for contraceptives.

Senator Boxer supports efforts to require hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception. She also supports funding for a public education campaign about the use, safety, and availability of emergency contraception.

Senator Boxer supports increased coverage of and access to contraceptives under the Medicaid program for low-income Americans.

She has supported numerous efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy. Since 2003, Senator Boxer has introduced the HOPE Youth Pregnancy Prevention Act, which is aimed at preventing teen pregnancy among at-risk and minority youth. She has also cosponsored legislation to provide grants to states for sex education.

Senator Boxer fought efforts to prevent international aid organizations from distributing birth control as a method of family planning and opposed attempts to eliminate funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which provides family planning and reproductive health services to women around the world.

Senator Boxer was an outspoken critic of a last-minute Bush Administration regulation that would have allowed any health worker or organization to refuse to participate in any medical service that they oppose. While she supports the long-standing physician conscience clause regarding abortions, the Bush policy was so broad that it would have put in jeopardy a woman’s access to contraceptives and infertility treatment.

Improving the Health Care of Women: The health problems facing women are often different than the health problems facing men. Too often, however, women’s health concerns have not been given the appropriate priority or resources.

To raise the profile of women’s health issues and to increase attention paid to the health care needs of women, Senator Boxer supports legislation to establish an Office of Women’s Health within various agencies of the federal government. She has also supported efforts to ensure that health care workers are trained to meet the unique health care needs of women.

Senator Boxer is the author of a bill that would help develop new technologies to better diagnose ovarian cancer.

Senator Boxer supports legislation to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of often overlooked heart disease and strokes in women.

Senator Boxer has supported legislation to increase the awareness of gynecologic cancers.

In 2008, Senator Boxer offered an amendment to cover low-income pregnant women under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).

She supports legislation to provide education for mothers about postpartum depression and anxiety, increase research into postpartum depression, and provide for postnatal screening services.

Senator Boxer has supported legislation in the Senate to increase the federal government’s efforts in reducing maternal mortality in the United States and around the world.

Fighting Violence against Women: While a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Boxer teamed up with now-Vice President Joe Biden to introduce the original Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This legislation, which became law in 1994, has raised awareness about violence against women, increased the number of shelters for abused women, and trained judges, police, and prosecutors on how to deal with violent crimes against women. She has repeatedly supported efforts to increase funding for the law’s programs as well as to expand and extend the law. Earlier this year, she supported President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, which included over $17 million for California to assist victims of domestic violence in California and to help the criminal justice system respond to violent crimes against women.

Ensuring Equality for Women:

Senator Boxer is a strong supporter of “Equal Pay for Equal Work,” which would promote equal opportunity and would help close the wage gap that results in women earning less than men for doing the same job.

She also fought for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed into law by President Obama to ensure that victims of wage discrimination can seek justice.

Senator Boxer supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure equal rights for women.

Fighting for Women Around the World: Senator Boxer chairs the Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues – the first subcommittee in Senate history to focus on the status of women worldwide.

Senator Boxer is one of the Senate’s leading advocates for the long-overdue ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a United Nations treaty that was first submitted to the U.S. Senate during the Carter Administration.

Senator Boxer authored legislation to establish the International Women’s Rights office within the State Department, to be headed by an Ambassador At Large for Global Women’s Issues. The Obama Administration has created this position.

Long before September 11, Senator Boxer was vocal in her opposition to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and its harsh and oppressive treatment of women. Since September 11, she has repeatedly introduced legislation and fought to provide assistance to the women and children of Afghanistan in the areas of political and human rights, health care, and education. In 2009, she called on President Hamid Karzai to reverse a law that would legalize marital rape and only allow women out of the house for “legitimate” purposes.

Senator Boxer has supported legislation to require the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to end the incidence of child marriage around the world, a practice with lifelong impact on the health and well-being of

Senator Boxer has cosponsored legislation to put the Senate on record in support of the ideals of International Women’s Day.

Caring for Women Veterans: Senator Boxer supports legislation to help the Department of Veterans’ Affairs address many of the unique needs of female veterans, particularly those women who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Creating a National Women’s History Museum: Senator Boxer has cosponsored legislation to create a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC.