I was at a rally over the 4th of July weekend in Doylestown and heard Ashley Ehasz, candidate for PA Congressional District 1 representative, speak about women’s right to choose, reproductive health, abortion healthcare access…freedoms no longer guaranteed.
She spoke about those freedoms and her support of them. Ashley Ehasz was forthright, clear, undeniable in her support for legislation — the Women’s Health Protection Act — that will protect the rights of women to participate freely in our healthcare and in society.
I learned more about her. She is a lifelong Pennsylvanian, a U.S. Army combat veteran and a former Apache helicopter pilot. Ashley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and, if elected, will be the first woman in Congress to have graduated from West Point.
After the rally, I looked up our current representative Brian Fitzpatrick’s stand on the same issues of women’s freedoms. I could not find current statements from him, or his campaign.
I did find that he voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act.
I also found, according to VoteSmart on 6/25/24, Fitzpatrick was rated 36% by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and 71% by the National Right to Life Committee.
I came across a social media post indicating that on June 14, 2024, Brian Fitzpatrick voted to bar the government from funding or reimbursing travel expenses for women serving in the military to seek abortions out of state if they aren’t allowed by law to receive them in the state where they’re stationed.
Ashley Ehasz’s response?
“We don’t choose where we’re stationed — why should Congress choose what health care we can seek?”
Additionally in my search, I discovered that a PoliticsPA internal survey from 6/25/24 shows Ehasz closing in on Fitzpatrick “45-47%.”
Women in PA District 1 are smart, informed, savvy. When a candidate is open and honest, we notice. When a candidate of integrity says they will have our back, we trust them.
Roe v Wade was overturned after the 2022 election. Since that time Brian Fitzpatrick has not committed to protecting our rights.
Open and honest? No, he is not forthcoming. Does he have our back? We are left to guess.
What is he afraid of? Perhaps it’s because he does realize the women of our district, Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the country, really are that smart, informed, savvy and courageous.
The jig is up Mr. Fitzpatrick.
Lisa Wasoski is from Chalfont.
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