10/13/06 Berceau Award Honors Courage

State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, said she was shocked to learn that she had been named 2006 Stateswoman of the Year by the Wisconsin Women's Network.

We weren't.

Berceau has been a champion in the fight for equal protection under the law for all Wisconsinites, but particularly for women. And she has shown courage that is rare in the current Legislature, taking on fights that others -- even other liberal Democrats -- avoid.

Berceau's recent effort to repeal an outdated and unused state law that outlines fines and prison terms for women who seek abortions and for doctors who perform them is a good example of that courage. So too are her bills to ensure responsible school health education, birth control availability, and sensitive care for rape victims.

In a Legislature where most Republicans want to make it illegal for women to make basic choices about their lives and their bodies, and where many Republicans are afraid to wade into fights over hot-button issues, Berceau has, in the words of women's network Vice Chairwoman Sharyn Wisniewski, been "a crusader" for women's rights.

In Wisconsin these days, there are few political rewards for such work.

But the Stateswoman of the Year award, which has been given in recent years to Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, provides a measure of the recognition that is deserved by those who choose to place principle above politics.

Berceau is such a leader, and no one who has been paying attention -- except, perhaps, for the modest legislator herself -- should be surprised that she is being so honored.

Berceau will receive the Stateswoman of the Year award at a brunch at the Monona Terrace Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. For more information, contact the Wisconsin Women's Network at 255-9809 or www.wiwomensnetwork.org/.