[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



[[Page E913]]

                      HONORING MS. BARBARA SEAMAN

                                 ______


                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 1995
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a woman who 
has saved lives and changed lives--Barbara Seaman.
  Best known for her ground-breaking expose of the health risks 
associated with the pill, ``The Doctors' Case Against the Pill,'' 
Barbara Seaman changed the way women view medicine, and forced the 
medical establishment to begin changing the way many medical 
professionals view women who are their patients. When thousands of 
women taking the then-newly available pill began to experience serious 
side effects--some deadly--it was Barbara Seaman who told them why. A 
1970 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of women taking the pill had not 
been warned of related risks by their physicians. Barbara Seaman 
changed that. Her book spurred the now-famous Gaylord Nelson Senate 
hearings which led to the requirement that inserts warning of potential 
side effects must be included in each pill package.
  At last, women could begin to make informed decisions as to their 
method of birth control. We cannot quantify how many lives Barbara 
Seaman saved through her activism, or how many lives she changed.
  Barbara Seaman exposed the risks associated with the pill at great 
personal expense. Although prior to the publication of ``The Doctors' 
Case Against the Pill,'' Barbara Seaman had already become a well-
respected columnist, Ms. Seaman was effectively blacklisted. 
Advertisers displeased with Ms. Seaman's activism used their influence 
to convince publishers not to print anything she had written.
  But Barbara Seaman continued to be an advocate for women's health 
concerns, and went on to write additional books and to become one of 
the founders of the National Women's Health Network. Barbara Seaman 
remains a strong voice for women's health.
  April 27 marked the 25th anniversary of the drafting of the historic 
letter sent to Ms. Seaman from then-Secretary of Health, Education, and 
Welfare Robert Finch, which cited Ms. Seaman's book as: ``a major 
factor in our strengthening the language in the final warning published 
in the Federal Register to be included in each package of the pill.''
  Today, I salute Barbara Seaman as a national role model. Her work has 
saved the lives of countless women--not only those who were taking the 
pill without being informed of the risks, but all women whose health 
care professionals have been held to a higher standard because of Ms. 
Seaman's work. She began a movement that is still growing, and, today, 
I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Barbara Seaman's 
extraordinary accomplishments.


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