ELLSWORTH — The last act in a cruel drama that began in 1990 will be played out in Washington, D.C., next Wednesday. The act even has a name: the Ruth Moore Act.
The act, which would lower the burden of proof for military victims of sexual trauma seeking disability benefits, will be introduced as a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Feb. 13. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) will present the bill to the Senate. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) will bring the bill to the House. Standing beside Pingree will be Ruth Moore of Milbridge, once a victim, now a victor.
Moore, who was raised in the Washington County town of Pembroke, joined the Navy when she was 18 and was assigned to an overseas duty station in the Azores.
“Two and a half months after I arrived, I was raped by my supervisor outside of the local club,” she testified before members of Congress last July. “I sought help from the chaplain, but did not receive any. I tried to move beyond this nightmare, but had contracted a STD. At this point, my life spiraled downward and I attempted suicide.”
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Stephen Fay
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