Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has passed away at the age of 88 after sustaining an injury last week, her office announced Friday.
“To have met Louise Slaughter is to have known a force of nature,” her chief of staff Liam Fitzsimmons said in a statement.
The Democrat and Chronicle was first to report the news on Friday morning.
Slaughter suffered a head injury after a fall last week and had been hospitalized for a concussion, her office said earlier this week.
In her 16th term, Slaughter was one of the longest serving women in the House of Representatives and was first elected to Congress in 1986.
Slaughter was the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee; was a champion of governmental transparency, demonstrated in her advocacy for the passage of the STOCK Act in 2006; and was widely recognized for her work to prevent discrimination in the health insurance market.
Slaughter was also recognized for her women’s rights work. She was the co-chair and founder of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, established the Office of Research on Women’s Health and was the co-author of the Violence Against Women Act, landmark legislation that has helped reduce domestic violence in the U.S.
In 2009, she brought the Affordable Care Act to the House floor for the historic vote.
Details on Slaughter’s funeral arrangements will be announced when they are available, her office said.
What a shame to lose her. She was a fighter for good causes and justice. https://louise.house.gov/about/full-biography
Terrible news. Condolences to her friends & family.
She was a ‘good’ one. RIP Louise!
Rest easy, Congresswoman.
So sorry to hear.