I dare any one of you to judge me,” she added. “I dare you to walk in my shoes.”
Fedor's disclosure is just the latest personal admission from a female lawmaker who has determined she cannot remain silent about her own experience while her colleagues debate issues of reproductive rights on the floor.
Earlier this month, Arizona State Rep. Victoria Steele (D) made a similar speech during a legislative debate over a measure that would make it harder for women to get insurance coverage for abortion services.
“This is health care. Having the ability to get an abortion,” she said to the committee.
during Michigan's last session, State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) spoke up in a debate over a measure to restrict insurance coverage for abortion — including for women who become pregnant from rape.
Whitmer said. “I felt it was important for my Republican colleagues to see the face of the women they're hurting with their actions today.”
Texas voters have also become well acquainted with former gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis' (D) personal history, which she cited during her infamous filibuster against a package of harsh abortion restrictions in the summer of 2013. she recounted relying on Planned Parenthood clinics when she was uninsured, and explained that there was a point in her life when she wouldn't have been able to afford to drive hundreds of miles to the nearest abortion clinic.
The list goes on. Nevada Assemblywomen Lucy Flores (D) talked about her decision to have an abortion at the age of 16 U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) disclosed her own abortion on the House floor while arguing against a GOP-sponsored proposal to defund Planned Parenthood. Pennsylvania State Rep. Louise Williams Bishop (D) discussed being raped at the age of 12