By Katrina Raser

On Wednesday, 40 people from every corner of this country, banded together to deliver a message to their senators, "Kill the bill, don't kill me!"

Katrina Raser (submitted photo)

If you've seen the coverage, you may have noticed that some of your fellow central Pennsylvanians were among those 40.

Indeed, six of us traveled to U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey's, R-Pa., office, and three of us were arrested while peacefully protesting.

I was among the three arrested.

I am a woman who has struggled with post-partum depression. To an insurance company, I am a high-risk, a pre-existing condition. Nothing else.

They don't see a mother, a daughter, a sister, or an aunt. They don't see an artist, an academic, a lover or a fighter. They see a bottom line. A profit or a loss.

But I so much more. I am a human and I believe that healthcare is a human right.

I went to Washington to show Toomey that I am not only a person, but his constituent.

As a constituent, I believe that he is not representing my best interest. I wish he could see that my family is not just a collection of illnesses and expenses. We are more than that.

We are survivors. We are warriors.

If he votes in support of the proposed healthcare bill, with its caps and cuts, which he helped to write, he is sending us into the depths of poverty and for one family member, who requires life sustaining medicine, he would assuredly be signing a death sentence.

When I got to D.C., I was welcomed into the arms of a diverse group of people, each with a different story to tell.

We went to the offices of our elected officials where were met with an overwhelming media presence and Toomey's office staff.

The office staffer informed us that Toomey was unavailable to meet with us and that he was not able to commit to holding an in-person town hall.

After sharing our stories with the office staff, we moved out into the hallway to share them with the public.

Pennsylvanians representing Pittsburgh and Philadelphia joined us in peaceful protest demanding a healthcare bill that insures more people, not less, asking that any changes to our current system to result in fewer out of pocket expenses, not more.

The police came, and the media and our supporters were removed from the immediate vicinity.

Capitol police asked us to leave and when we refused, we were taken away one by one for "crowding obstructing or incommoding."

While I can understand that sitting in a hallway, may be an inconvenience to my legislators, I need them to understand that losing my health care would be more than inconvenience to me.

Toomey needs to know that this bill will devastate poor, working class, and middle class Pennsylvanians.

Ending Medicaid's guarantee of coverage for children, seniors, and people with disabilities in order to give huge tax breaks to the wealthy, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance corporations is greedy and cruel.

Transferring wealth from those most vulnerable in our society to the wealthiest people and corporations is not going to help Pennsylvania prosper.

If he isn't willing to take this into care and consideration, to represent me and my family, then there will be very real, very public outrage.

Senator Toomey, if you're reading this, have an in-person town hall.

Meet with your constituents. Listen to us. Represent us.

Just because you don't have to worry about your health care, it doesn't mean you are free to dismiss ours. Stop fighting with us and fight for us.

Katrina Raser, of Hummelstown, is an activist, advocate and concerned citizen.