Cheers For Women’s Rights at FLOTUS Visit in Westerville

“It all boils down to who you are and what you stand for. We all know who my husband is, don’t we? We all know what he stands for, and we’ve all seen again and again just how hard he’s willing to fight for us.”

~ First Lady Michelle Obama, Speaking to a crowd of 2,000 supporters in Westerville, Ohio earlier today.

I have so many wonderful photographs and great video and stories to share with you about today’s visit to Ohio by the First Lady. I’m going to begin the series by telling you about a moment that happened when Michelle Obama was being introduced. It’s signifies for me, our opposition to the War on Women, and our clarity about what me must do to defend ourselves, and the progress we’ve made. I explain more, and show you footage of the moment, in this video…

I spoke with Nancy McCarthy after the event and received this statement from her…

“Where I knew that Central Ohio has a  strong history of advocacy for women’s rights, I was pleased to hear such an overwhelmingly positive response when I mentioned access to contraception, in my introduction for the First Lady at Westerville Central High School this afternoon. Support for the ability of a woman to determine what is best for her own body has not changed here.  With recent attempts to take away our ability to make those choices, it’s more important than ever to speak out about our rights, as women.  And the President is definitely on our side.  President Obama has proven that he is a strong advocate for women, and a defender of the issues that are most important to women and their families, which includes the ability to control their lives and their decisions.  Thanks to unprecedented new guidelines in the Affordable Care Act, women will have access to a wide range of preventive health services—mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and soon birth control—without a co-pay or deductible. The Affordable Care Act will also prevent insurance companies from discriminating against women, so that being a woman can no longer be considered a pre-existing condition.”

In contrast, Mitt Romney is too extreme for Ohio’s women and their families. Romney refuses to say whether he would have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps women fight back when they don’t receive equal pay for equal work. He vows to repeal Obamacare on day one even without a clear plan to replace it, limiting access to health care for millions of women across the country.  He said he would “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, a vital health care provider of preventive services, like cancer screenings, for millions of women.

Closing the gender pay gap would add half a trillion dollars to the consumer economy so the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act isn’t only about fairness. It’s about having a thriving economy as well. These are the kinds of things President Obama understands, and Mitt Romney does not.

Story,  photos and video by Lauren Michelle Kinsey
Follow: @OHLMK
Contact: laurenkinsey@gmail.com