Breast Cancer Prevention and Health Care Reform - Nov. 18, 2009

Michelle Bachmann, Minnesota 6th Congressional District. It's really interesting how we've seen the debate go forward on health care reform with both President Obama and with Speaker Pelosi. Very early on in this effort, they said that a lot of the cost-saving would occur with prevention. They wanted to have more preventative methods taken in terms of health care. So it's interesting that the United States Preventative Services Tax Force now is encouraging women, as my colleagues have said, to wait another decade before they begin mammograms. I spoke with my 78-year-old mother last evening, who said, "Michelle, why in the world would government want us to do less to prevent breast cancer? Am I missing something?" Well, she has a lot of common sense-my little mother. And I think all of us, as Sue Myrick said, we want to encourage women—no matter if you're 78, if you're 18, if you're 48—to do breast self-exams and also go through with, what is not always considered pleasant, a mammogram. So the truth is, we do know that prevention can work. So let's not send that wrong signal. Let's do the right thing. But again, let's also remember something very important. In all of this, women don't want to lose control over health care issues. That's really all we have to ask about this health care measure that is being pushed upon us. Who will get more control? Will it be government or will it be individuals? And women who make most of the health care decisions in this country don't want to lose control over having the best health care, not only for themselves, for their parents and for their children.

Michele Bachman. "Bachmann - GOP Women - Breast Cancer." YouTube video, 1:44. Nov. 18, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJp2ycs0o_Q.