[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. ELIZABETH KARLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 1998

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Elizabeth Karlin, a physician and 
humanitarian, who possessed uncompromising compassion and belief in 
humane medical treatment for women, died of a brain tumor on July 27, 
1998. She was 54 years old. Elizabeth Karlin was a mother of two 
children, an impresario of folk music, a general practitioner of 
medicine in rural Tanzania, an internist specializing in endocrinology, 
an abortion provider, and a national leader in the movement to provide 
access to abortion as part of a full range of health services for women 
and families.
  Dr. Karlin served as Director of the Women's Medical Center in 
Madison, Wisconsin. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors 
of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health and a Clinical 
Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at 
University Hospitals in Madison. She received her BA from Antioch 
College and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin 
Medical School. The American Medical Women's Association awarded her 
its Reproductive Health Award in 1993 and its highest honor, the 
Elizabeth Blackwell Award in 1996.
  Because of her outspoken belief in providing the best possible care 
for women faced with unintended pregnancies, Elizabeth Karlin was 
targeted by extremists, who stalked her in her neighborhood and staged 
protests in front of her home. In a New York Times article in 1995, Dr. 
Karlin explained why she had chosen such a courageous, but difficult 
path when she said: ``I don't do abortions because it's a filthy job 
and somebody has to do it. I do them because it is the most challenging 
medicine I can think of. I provide women with nurturing, preventive 
care to counteract a violent religious and political environment. I 
hope to do it well enough to prevent repeat abortions . . . My job is 
to stop the next abortion. To do this we expect our patients to leave 
us empowered, more informed, healthier, and, yes, happier than when 
they came in.''
  Dr. Karlin testified before the Congressional Women's Caucus in 
October 1997, urging the importance of American women's access to 
contraception and new contraceptive research. Following the hearing, 
the Congressional Women's Caucus, pressed for the full range of 
contraceptive coverage for federal employees in their benefit plans.
  A role model for many and an apologist to no one, Dr. Karlin set a 
high standard for doctors who strive to provide women with the best 
medical care possible under the worst of circumstances