--- title: Educate Congress - Highlights from Our Bodies Ourselves at the National Press Club date: 2012-10-23T23:22:06-04:00 author: OBOS Admin canonical_url: "https://ourbodiesourselves.org/blog/educate-congress-highlights-from-our-bodies-ourselves-at-the-national-press-club" section: Blog (Archive) --- [Donate](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/donate) [From the Archives of Our Bodies, Our Blog](/blog)# Educate Congress - Highlights from Our Bodies Ourselves at the National Press Club By Rachel Walden • October 23, 2012 Please note: This entry -- originally posted at [Our Bodies, Our Blog](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/blog) -- has not been updated since the publication date listed above. [caption id="attachment_17596" align="aligncenter" width="450"]![National Press Club OBOS event](https://assets.ourbodiesourselves.org/images/blog-archive/npc_web.jpg "npc_web") Marion McCartney, Cindy Pearson, Diana Zuckerman, Judy Norsigian, Erin Thornton, Vivian Pinn with National Press Club organizer Debra Silimeo / Photo: Angela Edwards[/caption] It's official: Washington knows we're coming. Our Bodies Ourselves kicked off the [Educate Congress](http://www.indiegogo.com/educate-congress?a=1574896 "Help Educate Congress") campaign Monday at the National Press Club, joined by some of the smartest and most influential experts on women's health. The campaign aims to deliver "Our Bodies, Ourselves" to every member of the U.S. House and Senate. Judy Norsigian, OBOS founder and executive director, spoke about the [clear need to provide Congress with accurate, evidence-based information](http://www.ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2012/10/why-we-need-to-educate-congress "Why We Need to Educate Congress"), particularly in the wake of some outlandish and indeed dangerous comments about women's bodies. Cindy Pearson, executive director of the [National Women’s Health Network](http://nwhn.org/ "National Women's Health Network"), said, "What seems to be going on somewhat right now is public figures' willingness to make statements of fact that are so badly wrong." Other speakers included Diana Zuckerman, president of the [National Research Center for Women & Families](http://www.center4research.org/ "The National Research Center for Women & Families"); Erin Thornton, executive director of [Every Mother Counts](http://everymothercounts.org/ "Every Mother Counts"); Vivian Pinn, former director (retired) of the [Office of Research on Women’s Health](http://orwh.od.nih.gov/ "Office of Research on Women's Health") and Marion McCartney, CNM, a pioneer nurse-midwife who founded the first freestanding birth center in the D.C. area. Coverage of the event and the campaign is available from numerous media, including [Washington Examiner](http://washingtonexaminer.com/every-member-of-congress-to-receive-copies-of-our-bodies-ourselves/article/2511416#.UIbTy2dP_ng) and Agence France-Presse (love the headline: "'Our Bodies, Ourselves' earmarked for US politicians"). Pearson also gave a [great interview](http://www.myfoxdc.com/video?clipId=7869241&autostart=true "Our Bodies, Ourselves Book Being Sent to Every Member of Congress") on FOX 5 in D.C. We're indebted to [Malcolm M. Woods](https://twitter.com/malcolmmw "see #OBOScongress tweets"), who did a terrific job live-tweeting the event using the hashtag [\#OBOSCongress](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23OBOSCongress&src=hash "#OBOScongress on Twitter") (tweets are still available if you want to check 'em out), and without whom this whole event would not have been possible. Campaign supporter and [Every Mother Counts](http://everymothercounts.org/) founder Christy Turlington ended up not being able to make the event, but she sent out [this message](https://twitter.com/CTurlington/status/260445425037893632 "Christy Turlington tweet") in support: > Let's Educate Congress! [bit.ly/QN9yXY](http://t.co/WC5bzkr1 "http://bit.ly/QN9yXY") "everyone deserves access 2!accurate women's health info & sex-ed!” @[oboshealth](https://twitter.com/oboshealth) [\#OBOSCongress](https://twitter.com/search/%23OBOSCongress) Keep watching this blog and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/oboshealth "@OBOShealth") and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/OurBodiesOurselves "OBOS on Facebook") for more campaign updates. We've already passed the 15 percent mark of our $25,000 goal to send books to all members of Congress. Huge thanks to all of our supporters! **Please consider [pitching in today](http://www.indiegogo.com/educate-congress?a=1574896 "Donate to Educate Congress via indiegogo") to help us meet our goal. We're offering perks for donations of all sizes -- but perhaps the greatest perk is knowing you, too, helped to educate Congress.** --- #### 0 Response Our Bodies Ourselves is no longer able to accept comments. ![](/assets/img/monogram.webp)Topics - [Activism & Resources](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/blog/topic/activism-resources) - [Books](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/blog/topic/books) - [Events](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/blog/topic/events) ![](/assets/img/monogram.webp)### *Why You Can* **Trust Us** - We rigorously evaluate all content - We embrace a reproductive justice framework - We don’t accept ads or sell products - We reject funding from the pharmaceutical industry - We counter misinformation and disinformation - We address the social, political, and economic factors that affect health and sexuality [read more](https://ourbodiesourselves.org/why-you-can-trust-us) Share [](javascript:void();)[](javascript:void();)[](javascript:void();)[](javascript:void();)