National Press Club to Host "NEWSMAKER" with Women's Groups Promote Sex Education for Policymakers; New Effort Launched to Send "Our Bodies, Ourselves" to Congress; Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns To Join Advocates at NPC Newsmaker

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Oct 16, 2012, 12:07 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With only a few weeks until the elections, women's organizations are mobilizing to "educate Congress" on women's health and reproductive issues by sending a copy of the landmark book, "Our Bodies, Ourselves," to every member of Congress.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO)

Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns, who founded Every Mother Counts, will join the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, more widely known as Our Bodies, Ourselves, at a National Press Club Newsmaker on Monday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. to launch the new initiative.

Members of Our Bodies, Ourselves, say many politicians don't understand basic reproductive issues. The group launched "Our Bodies, Our Votes" to inform voters, especially younger ones, about ways in which state and federal legislation can affect their health. This new initiative takes the campaign directly to lawmakers.

After decades on the covers of magazines, Burns has been devoting her energy to reducing maternal mortality globally and improving the lives of women and girls. She serves on the Harvard Medical School Global Health Council. Her documentary, "No Woman, No Cry," focused on maternal health. She will join leaders of women's health, research and medical organizations at the Newsmaker.

Speakers:

Judy Norsigian, executive director and founder, Our Bodies, Ourselves
Christy Turlington Burns, global maternal health advocate and founder, Every Mother Counts
Vivian Pinn, director, Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health

Representatives of leading women's groups, such as Diana Zuckerman, president, National Research Center for Women & Families; Cindy Pearson, executive director, National Women's Health Network; and the National Women's Law Center, will also be on hand to provide information.

Note: Our Bodies, Ourselves began as a loosely knit group of women in 1969, and its first publication, a booklet, was an underground success. Simon & Schuster published the book in 1973, and the Library of Congress named it one of the "88 books that shaped America." For the history of Our Bodies, Ourselves visit: http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about/timeline.asp

SOURCE National Press Club