Congresswoman Michele Bachmann spoke out against the National Women’s History Museum, saying from the House floor Wednesday that the museum would “enshrine the radical feminist movement.”
“I rise today in opposition to this bill, because I believe ultimately this museum that will be built on the National Mall, on federal land, will enshrine the radical feminist movement that stands against the pro-life movement, the pro-family movement, and pro-traditional marriage movement,” the Minnesota Republican said before voting against the proposed House bill.
The bipartisan legislation was co-sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Marsha Blackburn who drafted the bill that would establish a legislative commission to study the potential creation of a National Women’s History Museum. The commission would then submit a list of recommendations and a plan of action to the president and Congress for building and maintaining the museum.
“The legislation lacks the necessary safeguards to ensure the proposed museum will not become an ideological shrine to abortion that will eventually receive federal funding and a prominent spot on the National Mall,” Bachmann said.
The bill does not request for federal funding, as the museum would be privately funded. The national museum, which hopes to honor prominent women in history, has the backing of many high-profile supporters, or ambassadors as they are called, including Lisa Ling, Kate Walsh, Geena Davis, and Janis Ian. Actress Meryl Streep has even committed $1 million to the effort.
The museum would install exhibits featuring “Entrepreneurial Women,” “Women in Early Film,” “Women in the Olympics,” and “Profiles in Motherhood,” which even honors Rep. Bachmann as a foster mom. The congresswoman and her husband Marcus have 23 foster children.
But Bachmann claimed “that any exhibit-worthy exhibits are clearly the exception and not the rule.” “A cursory review of the overall content already listed on the website shows an overwhelming bias towards women which fails to paint the actual picture of lives and women throughout our history,” she said. The Family Research Council and the Heritage Action Fund, along with anti-abortion groups, have spoken out against the museum’s efforts, calling for conservative elected officials to denounced the potential museum. Political groups seem to be concerned about a section on Margaret Sanger, who created the country’s first birth control clinic. Despite Bachmann’s concerns, the House passed the bill 383 to 33 on Wednesday afternoon. Rep. Bachmann and 32 other Republican members did not vote.
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