Rep. Louise Slaughter Passed Away on Thursday

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) died Thursday night after being admitted to hospital following a fall earlier this week, according to Politico.

Rep. Slaughter passed away on Thursday at the age of 88. Slaughter was hospitalized earlier this week after falling in her home and received treatment for a concussion.

Slaughter served in Congress since 1987.

Congresswoman Slaughter is the longest-serving member of New York’s delegation to Congress and the oldest sitting member of the House.

Rep. Slaughter became the first woman to chair the influential House Rules Committee.

Slaughter was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, in 1929. Rep. Slaughter pushed for several prominent pieces of legislation such as the Genetic Information and Non-Discrimination Act.

Slaughter also co-authored the Violence Against Women Act and founded the Congressional Pro-Choice.

Liam Fitzsimmons, Slaughter’s chief of staff, said in a statement on Friday:

To have met Louise Slaughter is to have known a force of nature. She was a relentless advocate for Western New York whose visionary leadership brought infrastructure upgrades, technology and research investments, and two federal manufacturing institutes to Rochester that will transform the local economy for generations to come.

As the first chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, Louise blazed a path that many women continue to follow.

Fitzsimmons added, “It is difficult to find a segment of society that Louise didn’t help shape over the course of more than 30 years in Congress, from health care to genetic nondiscrimination to historic ethics reforms.”