Editor's Note: Elissa Cottle will send updates to Southwest Minneapolis Patch during her trip to Washington D.C. as a citizen lobbyist. While her comments aren't an endorsement by Patch of her specific views on the issues, it's an interesting opportunity to hear about the experiences of a local citizen as they seek to impact national government policy. Look for her pieces this weekend.

Elissa Cottle, who is a poet, doesn’t always write about the global need for affordable and accessible contraception. But the topic does work its way into some poems. The final section of her poem “Who I Write For” goes like this:

For lives who are patient, and telling us
they will wait to be conceived. Because it’s easier 

than would be believed. The milk is cold and delicious.
Sleep is dreamless but knows how quickly

that will change once days are lived. They wait
without hurry to begin. When their water 

lilies float sleeping and undisturbed at the sight
above their face. 

Cottle, a Southwest Minneapolis resident, writing instructor and mother of two, has been concerned about reproductive health needs in this country since her work as a criminal courts reporter in the Los Angeles area over two decades ago. She covered hundreds of violent crime trials and read the defendants’ probation reports to prepare for writing her articles. Nearly every offender Cottle covered had been abused as a child.

“I made this link that it’s most important for a future mother to conceive a child at the correct time in her life,” Cottle said. “I think it’s morally imperative that women delay conception of a child until [they are] ready.”

This weekend Cottle will take her passion to Washington D.C., participating in Capitol Hill Days through Population Connection.

Formerly known as Zero Population Growth or ZPG, Population Connection focuses on three issues: the environment, women’s rights and social justice. Central to Population Connection’s work is providing women around the world with access to affordable contraception. Cottle supports this mission wholeheartedly. 

“I just don’t think there’s anything more important, frankly,” she said.

Cottle agrees with Population Connection’s stance that population stabilization through accessible and affordable contraception is linked to other positive outcomes in a wide range of issues.

“If we could solve the problem of the conception of lives prematurely, I’ve come to believe that that would have this amazing domino effect and address just about every other social need that I can think of for this country and the world,” Cottle said.

Cottle first met representatives from Population Connection about five years ago at an event in Minneapolis. She also attended an event for the D.C.-based organization last year at Normandale Community College. 

Having developed an email relationship with the organization, Cottle was recently contacted by field representative Rebecca Harrington to inquire whether she would be interested in traveling to Washington D.C. to meet with her political representatives. 

Cottle expressed interest in the event and was offered a scholarship to cover transportation and lodging costs.

She'll be in the capital city this Friday through Monday, with a full schedule. The weekend will be about education and preparation, including speeches and presentations by the president and CEO of Population Connection, John Seager, a senior researcher at Oxfam America, Marc Cohen, and author and former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Gloria Feldt. 

On Monday, Cottle will have 20 minute meetings with Senators Klobuchar and Franken (or members of their staff) as well as a House representative. Cottle’s representative is democrat Keith Ellison but she has requested to meet instead with republican Erik Paulsen. Cottle lives in Ellison’s fifth district but works in Paulsen’s third, so while she is not part of his voting constituent, she is a member of the labor force.

“I respect President Obama’s view about needing to make compromises and go across the aisle and I feel like I could make more of a difference if I spoke with [Paulsen],” Cottle said.    

She looks forward to making the case for affordable contraception, here and abroad.

“I really believe that if we could only choose one issue–if we only had the funds for one need–then I will try to make the case when I’m in Washington that it should be for accessible contraception. Period,” Cottle said.