She Wasn’t Ready for Children. A Judge Wouldn’t Let Her Have an Abortion. Now She’s on the Run
From her high-powered job on a powerful Washington lobbying panel to her role as an international media face, Amy Bishop has become a lightning rod for controversy in the last year. And in the process, she helped to shape public opinion about reproductive health and rights.
Bishop is a member of the powerful Democratic Leadership Council, a bipartisan group of the party’s legislative managers who advise members of Congress on policy issues. An aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Bishop has a star on her résumé that goes far beyond her position on Capitol Hill. She heads communications for the organization Women in the World, and she is also a member of the International Press Institute, which organizes journalists for the UN in Geneva, Switzerland.
But Bishop’s biggest role is that of a public-relations genius. The Washington socialite has taken her message all around the world, raising awareness of the human rights issues that matter most for women, working on the ground, to make sure their voices are heard.
The 24-year-old, whose parents met while serving in the U.S. Air Force, gave birth at home in December 2012, and she never imagined there’d come a day when she wouldn’t be able to carry on with the family business. With an unplanned pregnancy, Bishop thought her situation would be the easiest thing she’d ever worked through.
But one day in late 2012, Bishop came to work in the office of Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the first lady of the United States. There, she saw that Clinton was pregnant too.
When Clinton shared the news with the D.C. group, she was told by Bishop that she was the key to her political career. The two women decided to co-chair an anti-abortion group, called NARAL Pro Choice America. The group is designed to protect and strengthen the reproductive rights of women. When Clinton left office, Bishop left the D.C. office.
In an interview with Human Life Review, Bishop says she was initially hesitant to take on the role. But once she realized the potential for something bigger, she felt it was her duty to take on the fight.