[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     EMPOWERING AND EDUCATING WOMEN AS TO THEIR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I was just thinking that 
one of the reasons I like spring so much and so well is that we get an 
opportunity to interact a bit more with young people, with our 
children, and I have seen many around here this morning all over the 
place, and I simply want to welcome them.
  Also, yesterday, I got an opportunity to visit two schools. The first 
was the Proviso Area School for Exceptional Children in Maywood, 
Illinois, where we just had a wonderful time. Then, in the afternoon, I 
did a book fair at the Lovett Elementary School with its principal, Dr. 
Haney. The young people at Lovett were saying they just love being at 
Lovett, so it was a refreshing day.
  Like many of my colleagues, I also use a lot of interns and fellows 
who come and learn and work and who are engaged and involved. The 
statement that I am going to read today was developed by one of my 
interns, Jakie Martinez. Jakie has been working on health issues, and 
she came up with this statement. So I come here today to speak of a 
health concern that many women are likely to develop in their 
lifetimes.
  Known as one of the most common gynecological disorders, uterine 
fibroids affect nearly 70 percent of Caucasian women and more than 80 
percent of African American women by the age of 50. For many of these 
women the associated symptoms of this diagnosis will significantly 
impact their quality of life, work, personal relationships, and daily 
activities. The prevalence of uterine fibroids is one that increases 
with age. Although we see a commonality in the disorder and its 
symptoms, the greater public has not yet received the proper continued 
education into the causes and treatment options available for women who 
suffer from these fibroids.
  In response, we see that hysterectomies are the most commonly 
performed major gynecologic surgery in the United States, with over 
400,000 hysterectomies performed annually; yet there are also several 
minimally invasive surgical options for the treatment of uterine 
fibroids that feature less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, smaller 
incisions for minimal scarring, and less need for pain medication than 
with traditional open surgery. It is important to remember that the 
best surgical option for each woman, whether it is open or minimally 
invasive, is reserved for a case-by-case evaluation.
  In recognizing the health and educational needs of women in the 
United States, it is important that the greater public be educated in 
greater detail on the alternatives to more or less invasive surgical 
treatments so that women can have access to a full spectrum of 
treatment options. After all, it is my hope that women will become more 
educated and empowered in regards to their reproductive health and in 
the understanding of safe options available for the treatment of 
symptomatic fibroids.
  I thank Jakie Martinez for writing this statement. It is very 
important.

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