[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING VICKI SAPORTA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring Vicki Saporta for 20 years of 
outstanding leadership and service as President and CEO of the National 
Abortion Federation (NAF).
  As the first woman organizing director for an international union and 
now as a visionary leader in the reproductive health, rights, and 
justice movement, Vicki Saporta has spent her career fighting for 
women's equality and to improve women's lives. Since taking the helm of 
NAF in 1995, President Saporta has worked tirelessly to ensure women's 
access to safe, legal abortion care.
  Recognizing the need to address violence against abortion providers, 
Saporta successfully advocated for the establishment of the Department 
of Justice's National Task Force on Violence Against Health Care 
Providers. She has actively worked with Attorney Generals Janet Reno 
and Eric Holder; the Department of Justice; Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and 
U.S. Marshals to improve law enforcement response to clinic violence. 
As a result, major incidences of violence against abortion providers 
have decreased significantly in recent years.
  Saporta has brought abortion providers and their patients into the 
forefront of the public debate about abortion. In 1996, she brought 
five women and their families to the Oval Office to meet with President 
Clinton, who publicly announced that he vetoed a federal abortion ban 
because he was so moved by their stories. More recently, she worked 
closely with Congress to build support for lifting a decades-long ban 
on federal funding for abortion care for servicemembers and their 
dependents in cases of rape and incest--one of the only pro-choice 
legislative victories in the last 40 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring President and 
CEO Vicki Saporta for her outstanding service to reproductive health. 
Her legacy continues to offer a powerful example for serving our 
communities.

                          ____________________