Motherhood is Powerful (article about Congresswoman Cathy Mc Rodgers

[Guest guest]

Motherhood Is

Powerful

Mc Rodgers is a rarity: a pro-life female member

of the House.

by Vance

04/27/2009, Volume 014, Issue 30

Third-term representative Mc Rodgers doesn't fit the mold of

the female member of Congress. Unlike at least three-quarters of them, she's

a Republican. And unlike about seven-eighths of them, she's staunchly

pro-life.

After serving 10 years in the Washington state legislature, Mc

was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 from the Fifth

District, which includes Spokane. At the end of her first term, she married

Rodgers, a retired Navy pilot, who now plays " Mr. Mom " for

the couple's 23-month-old son, Cole.

Cole has Down syndrome, and Mc Rodgers's experience with him

inspired her to launch the congressional Down Syndrome Caucus last spring. In

particular, she was worried about institutional barriers that stand in the

way of people with Down syndrome.

When Cole was born, the Rodgerses were advised not to put any assets in

his name in order to increase his odds of qualifying for Medicaid. " I

think there's something wrong with the system that is driving a person into

poverty rather than really focusing on, 'Okay, how do we make this person

self-sufficient and able to reach his full potential?'  " Mc Rodgers told me.

The Down Syndrome Caucus is bipartisan, and its co-chairs include D.C.

delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Rhode Island congressman Kennedy,

two liberal Democrats. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the caucus has

refrained from tackling directly the issue of the 80-to- 90 percent abortion

rates for fetuses that are diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome. Mc

Rodgers noted, however, that last year both houses of

Congress passed by unanimous votes, and President Bush

signed, a bill requiring health care providers to give mothers up-to-date

information about care and support networks when there is a prenatal or

postnatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

The high abortion rate associated with it has put Down syndrome in the

forefront of the debate over prenatal testing. The congresswoman pointed out

the conflicted feelings of many in the disability advocacy community.

" They don't want to be seen as pro-life, and yet they think it is wrong

that just because a baby has a diagnosis that so many are aborted. "

" I see my son as such a special gift, " she went on, " and he

is such a joy. People are drawn to Cole; he just has such a special way about

him, and it makes me more passionate to want to fight for Cole as well as

others, whether it's Down syndrome or any other disability, and fight for the

value and the tremendous impact that they can have in a positive way on our

lives and this world. "

Palin's comment in her speech accepting the Republican nomination

for vice president last summer--that " children with special needs

inspire a special love " --struck a chord with Mc Rodgers. " Any

family that's been touched with someone who has disabilities can relate to

that, " she said.

, the legislative director of the National Right to Life

Committee, underscored Mc Rodgers's 100 percent pro-life voting record,

noting, " She has been one who has not just voted pro-life but has

sponsored pro-life bills, quite a number of them. "

Mc Rodgers's Republican colleagues already recognize

her as a leader, especially on energy issues. (She supports an " all-of-the

above " approach and has won bipartisan support for her work on

hydropower.) This year, she was elected vice chair of the Republican

conference, making her the 4th-highest-ranking member in the minority and the

highest-ranking woman in the Republican caucus.

Indiana

congressman and House Republican Conference chair Mike Pence said Mc

Rodgers has demonstrated " almost a Thatcheresque quality, " combining

her pleasant, energetic demeanor with firmly held conservative principles.

Pence credits her with bringing members of the Republican conference into the

new media age. These qualities, as well as her willingness to work across the

aisle, make her an appealing figure in a party seeking to attract young voters

and women.

Marjorie

Dannenfelser, president of the B. List, which supports pro-life

women running for office, told me she thinks women like Mc Rodgers

and Palin are transforming the idea of what it means to be a woman in

politics, giving young women role models different from the traditional liberal

female politician. Dannenfelser's organization has supported Mc Rodgers

since her first run for Congress.

Dannenfelser

thinks Mc Rodgers possesses a special authority when she talks about

issues relating to the innate worth of human beings. " The facts are the

facts. Somehow, the presenter of the facts in certain debates sometimes matters

more than the facts themselves, " she said. " For her to say human

beings aren't all about utility, she speaks with authority, because she's

living it. "

As

for Mc Rodgers, her strategy going forward is to

focus on reminding people of the value that every person has. " I've long

thought that we need to reach people's hearts on this issue, " she said,

pointing to the effect ultrasound technology has had on parents, who now can

see their children before they're born. " I think that's having an impact

on society and that people are asking themselves the question, when does life

begin? "

Vance is an editorial assistant and Collegiate Network fellow at THE

WEEKLY STANDARD.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/395umndc.asp?pg=1