Topics in the News: Contraception
Barack Obama on Abortion
: Oct 16, 2012
ObamaCare asks insurance companies to provide contraceptives
In my health care bill, I said insurance companies need to provide contraceptive coverage to everybody who is insured. Because this is not just a health issue, it's an economic issue for women. It makes a difference. This is money out of that family's
pocket. Romney not only opposed it, he suggested that in fact employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage. That's not the kind of advocacy that women need.
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Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Oct 16, 2012
Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives
OBAMA: In my health care bill, I said insurance companies need to provide contraceptive coverage to everybody who is insured. Gov. Romney not only opposed it, he suggested that in fact employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not
a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage. That's not the kind of advocacy that women need. When Governor Romney says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there are millions of women all across the country, who rely on
Planned Parenthood, not just contraceptive care, they rely on it for mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings.ROMNEY: I don't believe that bureaucrats in Washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not.
And I don't believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care of not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives. And the president's statement of my policy is completely and totally wrong.
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Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Oct 11, 2012
No church needs to provide contraception under ObamaCare
RYAN: Look at what they're doing through "Obamacare" with respect to assaulting the religious liberties of this country. They're infringing upon our first freedom, the freedom of religion, by infringing on Catholic charities,
Catholic churches, Catholic hospitals. Our church should not have to sue our federal government to maintain their religious liberties.BIDEN: No religious institution,
Catholic or otherwise, including any hospital--none has to refer contraception. None has to pay for contraception. None has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact.
RYAN: If they agree with you, then why would they keep suing you? It's a distinction without a difference.
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Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate
Joe Biden on Principles & Values
: Aug 27, 2012
Side-by-side issue comparison to Paul Ryan
Does the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Paul Ryan agree with Democratic Vice President Joe Biden on anything? Nope, not among social issues like those listed below. We researched their voting records; their political biographies; their speeches and
websites; and present their issue stances side-by-side on each of the following topics (and economic issues and international issues as well): Obama-Biden vs. Romney-Ryan on Social Issues:- Contraception
- Abortion
-
Stem Cells
- Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell
- Defense of Marriage Act
- Affirmative Action
- College Loans
- School Vouchers
- No Child Left Behind
- School Prayer
- Faith-Based Initiative
-
Families & Children
- Tea Party
- Principles & Values
- American Exceptionalism
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Source: Paperback: Obama-Biden vs. Romney-Ryan On The Issues
Ron Paul on Abortion
: Feb 22, 2012
Morning-after pill same as birth control pill; not immoral
Q: Sen. Santorum said he would talk about what "no president has talked about before--the dangers of contraception." Your thoughts?PAUL: As an OB doctor, I've dealt with birth control pills and contraception for a long time. This is a consequence of
government control of medical insurance. The problem is the government is getting involved in things they shouldn't be involved in, especially at the federal level. But along the line of the pills creating immorality, I don't see it that way.
I think the immorality creates the problem of wanting to use the pills. So you don't blame the pills. The pills can't be blamed for the immorality of our society.
GINGRICH: When government provides a morning-after abortion pill [under ObamaCare], you
inevitably move towards tyranny.
PAUL: Actually, the morning-after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill, so if you legalize birth control pills, you really can't separate the two. They're all basically the same, hormonally.
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Source: CNN's 2012 GOP Debate on eve of Arizona Primary
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Feb 22, 2012
Church employee birth control violates religious conscience
Q: Birth control is the latest hot topic. Do you believe in birth control, and if not, why?ROMNEY: In the previous debate, we wondered why in the world did contraception come up? Well, we found out when Barack Obama continued his attack on
religious conscience. I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama.
Most recently requiring the Catholic Church to provide for its employees health care insurance that would include birth control, sterilization and the morning-after pill. Unbelievable.
And he retried to retreat from that but he retreated in a way that was not appropriate, because these insurance companies now have to provide these same things and obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying for them.
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Source: CNN's 2012 GOP Debate on eve of Arizona Primary
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Feb 22, 2012
MA churches can choose to not provide morning-after pills
Q: Speaker Gingrich has said during your tenure as governor, you required Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. Did you?ROMNEY: No, absolutely not. There was no requirement in Massachusetts for the Catholic Church to
provide morning-after pills to rape victims. That was entirely voluntary on their part. Likewise, there's a provision in Massachusetts General Law that says people don't have to have coverage for contraceptives or other type of medical devices which are
contrary to their religious teachings. Churches also don't have to provide that.
GINGRICH: Well, the reports we got were quite clear that the public health department was prepared to give a waiver to Catholic hospitals about a morning-after abortion
pill, and that the governor's office issued explicit instructions saying that they believed it wasn't possible under Massachusetts law. When you have government as the central provider of services, you inevitably move towards tyranny.
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Source: CNN's 2012 GOP Debate on eve of Arizona Primary
Paul Ryan on Abortion
: Feb 19, 2012
Church-provided contraception is about rights & conscience
Rep. Paul Ryan blasted the Obama administration's moves to mandate religious affiliated groups to provide contraception coverage as "paternalistic" and "arrogant.""What we're getting from the White House on this conscience issue, it's not an issue
about contraception, it's an issue that reveals a political philosophy the president is showing that basically treats our constitutional rights as if they were revocable privileges from our government, not inalienable rights from our creator." said
Ryan. "We're seeing this new government activism, paternalistic, arrogant, political philosophy that puts new government-granted rights in the way of our constitutional rights."
"That's really not about contraception," said Ryan of the mandate. "It's
about violating our first amendment rights to religious freedom and conscience. [Obama] believes that government-granted rights trump our constitutional rights such as our first amendment right to conscience, to freedom of religion."
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Source: The Hill: Healthwatch; reporting on NBC's Meet the Press
Barack Obama on Abortion
: Feb 12, 2012
Insurers must provide contraception, but not employers
For days, Obama had been hammered over a regulation in the health-care law that required religiously affiliated hospitals & universities to provide birth control for their female employees even if that conflicted with church teachings.This week, he
tried to end the debate with what he called an "accommodation." The employees still will be offered free birth-control coverage, but the benefit will come directly from their insurers, and no religious groups' money will be used.
The question now is whether the maneuver will tamp down the political fire. He appeared to have made progress, winning over the Catholic hospital association and Catholic Charities--although not the nation's bishops.
Evidence suggests that insurers
will comply because providing birth-control coverage reduces overall costs (birth control is much cheaper than pregnancy). Obama waded into the details of the dispute himself and personally crafted the solution.
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Source: Christi Parsons in Philadelphia Inquirer, "Birth Control"
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Jan 17, 2012
2002: No to new abortion law; yes to emergency contraception
In his 2001 letter to the editor in the Utah newspaper, Romney said he no longer wanted to be considered prochoice. Mitt said that when he's asked whether he will "preserve and protect" a woman's right to abortion, "I make an unequivocal answer: yes."
His answers to an April 2002 questionnaire from the local NARAL chapter were similarly unequivocal. Romney said he would oppose attempts to change state laws, either by adding new restrictions on abortion or by easing existing ones.
He expressed support for Medicaid finding for the procedure, efforts to expand access to emergency contraception, and the restoration of state funding for family-planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs. He also said he supported comprehensive sex
education in public schools and would oppose "'abstinence-only' sexuality education programs." "The truth is, no candidate in the governor's race in either party would deny women abortion rights," he wrote. "So let's end an argument that does not exist."
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Source: The Real Romney, by Kranish & Helman, p.229
Ron Paul on Abortion
: Jan 7, 2012
Right to privacy is explicit, but not for contraception
Q: [to Paul] Sen. Santorum believes that the Supreme Court was wrong when it decided that a right to privacy was embedded in the Constitution. And following from that, he believes that states have the right to ban contraception, although he's not
recommending that states do that. SANTORUM: The Supreme Court created through a penumbra of rights a new right to privacy that was not in the Constitution.
PAUL: No, I think the 4th Amendment is very clear. It is explicit in our privacy.
You can't go into anybody's house without a search warrant. This is why the Patriot Act is wrong, because you have a right of privacy by the 4th Amendment. As far as selling contraceptives, the Interstate Commerce Clause protects this; it was originally
written not to impede trade between the states, but it was written to facilitate trade between the states. So if it's not illegal to import birth control pills from one state to the next, it would be legal to sell birth control pills in that state.
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Source: WMUR 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Jan 7, 2012
States shouldn't ban contraception; and no state wants to
Q: [to Romney] Sen. Santorum has been very clear in his belief that the Supreme Court was wrong when it decided that a right to privacy was embedded in the Constitution. And following from that, he believes that states have the right to ban
contraception. Now I should add that he said he's not recommending that states do that. SANTORUM: No, let's be clear. We're talking about the 10th Amendment and the right of states to act.
Q: Gov. Romney, do you believe that states have the
right to ban contraception? Or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy?
ROMNEY: I can't imagine a state banning contraception. I can't imagine the circumstances where a state would want to do so, and if I were a governor of a state or a
state legislature, I would totally and completely oppose any effort to ban contraception.
SANTORUM: The Supreme Court created through a penumbra of rights a new right to privacy that was not in the Constitution. I believe it should be overturned.
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Source: WMUR 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate
Jill Stein on Families & Children
: Dec 21, 2011
Family planning is 1st principle of reproductive healthcare
Q: Is abortion a woman's right?A: Reproductive healthcare needs to be an essential part of healthcare in general. Women's access to family planning--that should be the first principle of reproductive healthcare.
When women can plan their health future, we can make abortion obsolete. Those who object to abortion on moral grounds ought to be promoting family planning and contraception as the means to avoid abortion.
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Source: 2011 OnTheIssues interview with Jill Stein
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Nov 22, 2011
Contraception is a personal choice; but advocate abstinence
Romney thinks there are some fundamental differences between early life forms that result from sexual intercourse and ones that result from scientific manipulations of human sperm and eggs. Detractors from Planned Parenthood, an organization Mitt and
Ann once enthusiastically supported, suggest his inconsistent position is politically self-serving, given the fact that his own children have benefitted from IVF procedures.He tightened his views on other reproductive issues as well.
Instead of preaching a variety of measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies, he became more vocal about "abstinence" to the point that some assumed (incorrectly) that it was the only approach to birth control that he endorsed.
In fact, his views on contraception--condoms, birth control pills, diaphragms, intrauterine, and other similar devices--have remained consistent with his church's policies, which treat such matters as issues of personal choice.
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Source: An Inside Look, by R.B.Scott, p.126-127
Sarah Palin on Education
: Nov 17, 2009
Supports abstinence ed plus contraception vs.explicit sex ed
Many liberal pundits seemed floored by a pregnant teenager, as if overnight they'd all snuck out & had traditional-value transplants. The talking heads began to parrot one line: "If Sarah Palin can't control her own daughter, how can she serve as V.P.?"
Some reporters insisted I favored abstinence-only sex education in public schools. "And see?" they said. "It didn't even work for her own daughter."The media got that wrong too. The only time I had commented on sex education was in an answer to a
gubernatorial candidate question asking whether I supported abstinence education versus "explicit" sex education in public schools--what some call the "slip a condom on a banana" show-and-tell curriculum. Given the choice, I answered that I would support
abstinence education over "explicit" sex-ed. I never said I didn't support contraception; I did. I also explained about being a longtime subscriber to the philosophy of Feminists for Life, a group of pro-life feminists who do not oppose contraception.
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Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p.237-238
Sarah Palin on Families & Children
: Nov 17, 2009
Daughter & teen mom Bristol helping prevent teen pregnancy
Daughter and teen mom Bristol was criticized from all sides as a hypocrite because she took up the cause of helping prevent teen pregnancy. Critics couldn't understand how she could love her precious son, Tripp, and still wish that he had been born ten
years later. She wanted more teens to know that though they had choices to make about contraception, the only surefire way of preventing pregnancy is not to have sex. This pragmatic position was attacked by both the right and the left--the left because
abstinence seems to be a dirty word and the right because even mentioning the word "contraception" "send a mixed message." Bristol wasn't trying to draft a national sex-ed policy. She just wanted to help her peers. She simply told teens what she has told
her sisters: "Don't make the same mistake I did. Wait."She graduated from high school on time, while raising her son & working two part-time jobs, and then immediately started college. You don't read about any of this positive progress in the tabloids
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Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p.371-372
Barack Obama on Abortion
: Apr 13, 2008
Teach teens about abstinence and also about contraception
We’ve actually made progress over the last several years in reducing teen pregnancies, for example. And what I have consistently talked about is to take a comprehensive approach where we focus on abstinence, where we are teaching the sacredness
of sexuality to our children.But we also recognize the importance of good medical care for women, that we’re also recognizing the importance of age-appropriate education to reduce risks. I do believe that contraception has to be part of that education
process.
And if we do those things, then I think that we can reduce abortions and I think we should make sure that adoption is an option for people out there. If we put all of those things in place, then I think we will take some of the edge off the
debate.
We’re not going to completely resolve it. At some point, there may just be an irreconcilable difference. And those who are opposed to abortion, I think, should continue to be able to lawfully object and try to change the laws.
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Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Barack Obama on Families & Children
: Apr 13, 2008
Teach both abstinence and contraception to teens
Q: In talking about your own daughters and talking about sex education and contraception, you made the jarring comment that you would not want your daughter “punished with a baby” if she made a mistake. Could you explain what you meant?A:
Keep in mind, on that same day, I said children are miracles. What I was saying was that my daughters are 9 & 6. And so if, at the age of 12 or 13, they made what I would consider to be a mistake, in having unprotected sex, and ended up getting pregnant.
And so all I meant was we want to prevent teen pregnancies. And what we don’t want to do is to be blind to the possibility that kids will screw up, just like, surprisingly enough, we as adults screw up sometimes. We want to make sure that, even as we are
teaching responsible sexuality and we are teaching abstinence to children, that we are also making sure that they’ve got enough understanding about contraception that they don’t end up having much more severe problems because of a dumb mistake.
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Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Barack Obama on Abortion
: Feb 2, 2008
Expand access to contraception; reduce unintended pregnancy
AT A GLANCE- Reproductive Choice: Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving a women’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president. Obama also supports expanded access to
contraception, health information and preventive services to reduce unintended pregnancies.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Protecting a Women’s Right to Choose: Obama will make safeguarding women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority. He opposes
any constitutional amendment to overturn that decision.
- Reducing Unintended Pregnancy: Obama will work to reduce unintended pregnancy by guaranteeing equity in contraceptive coverage, providing sex education, and offering rape victims accurate
information about emergency contraception.
OBAMA RECORD- Throughout his career, in both the Illinois Senate & the US Senate, Obama has stood up for a women’s right to choose, consistently earning 100% ratings from pro-choice groups.
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Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 35-36
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Aug 31, 2007
2005: Vetoed availability without Rx of morning-after pill
In 2005, Romney vetoed a bill making the morning-after pill available without a doctor’s prescription. For Romney, it was not only about contraception. He explained his decision in July 2005: “This bill does not require parental consent for even young
teenagers. It disregards not only the seriousness of abortion but the importance of parental involvement.” These vetoes were overturned by the Massachusetts State Legislature where pro-choice Democrats hold an overwhelming majority.
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Source: The Man, His Values, & His Vision, p. 52
Hillary Clinton on Abortion
: Jun 5, 2007
1993:Early action on abortion rights ended Right’s dominance
On the 4th day of the Clinton presidency, Jan. 23, the 20th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Bill Clinton signed a series of executive orders undoing the draconian policies of the Reagan-Bush era relating to abortion, contraception, and family planning.
Hillary had pushed unequivocally for the orders, but Bill’s pollster argued that she was dead wrong on the timing of such a hot-button issue; by acting on abortion policy as one of the administration’s first pieces of business, the president and, worse,
Hillary, would be perceived as governing from the left. But Hillary regarded the prohibitions in question as a powerful symbol of Reagan-era policies, and an opportunity to declare boldly that the Clinton era had begun.
The milestone anniversary of
Roe v. Wade, in Hillary’s view, was the perfect opportunity to move the new presidency on course unambiguously in terms of women’s rights, signal the religious right that its decade of dominance in regard to suc personal questions was over.
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Source: A Woman in Charge, by Carl Bernstein, p.256-257
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Dec 1, 2006
Opposes Roe v Wade, but won’t tamper with abortion laws
- Opposes Roe v. Wade.
- Believes that abortion should be banned in all cases except rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
- Vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005.
- However: Has kept campaign promise not to tamper
with state abortion laws.
- Said in 1994: “I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. We will not force our beliefs on others. And you will not see me wavering on that.”
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Source: CivilLiberty.about.com profile of Romney
Hillary Clinton on Abortion
: Oct 11, 2006
Prevention First Act: federal funds for contraception
In 2006 Hillary teamed up with nominally pro-life Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and pushed to increase federal funding to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood in order to “increase awareness” about unintended pregnancies.Senator
Clinton co-wrote an editorial with Reid titled, “Abortion Debate Shuns Prevention.” The piece said, “As two senators on opposite sides of the abortion debate, we recognize that one side will not suddenly convince the other to drop its deeply held beliefs
And we believe that, while disagreeing, we can work together to find common ground.“
The ”common ground,“ was, once again, increased government--in this case government programs to promote contraception. The Prevention First Act, as they named it,
would increase accessibility and ”awareness and understanding“ of emergency contraception. They aimed to ensure that sex education programs have medically accurate information about contraception and ”end insurance discrimination against women.“
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Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 96-97
Sarah Palin on Abortion
: Aug 6, 2006
Pro-contraception, pro-woman, pro-life
What about the social issues that Alaskans, especially the party faithful who often decide primary elections, may find important? Here’s what Sarah Palin has to say about abortion.Palin said last month that no woman should have to choose between her
career, education and her child. She is pro-contraception and said she’s a member of a pro-woman but anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life. “I believe in the strength and the power of women, and the potential of every human life,” she said.
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Source: Anchorage Daily News, “Little play,” by K. Hopkins
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Jul 27, 2005
Vetoed emergency contraception for rape victims
Massachusetts’ Legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Romney’s first term as governor barely touched on the issues dear to social conservatives until recently. In May, Romney vetoed legislation to expand stem cell research because it allowed
the cloning of human embryos for use in stem cell experiments--a practice Romney said amounts to creating life in order to destroy it. The Legislature overrode the veto.
His veto of the emergency contraception measure is also likely to be overridden.
That bill requires hospital emergency room doctors to offer the medication to rape victims, and would make it available without prescription from pharmacies.
Romney is on a list of possible contenders for the White House in 2008. Others include Sens.
John McCain of Arizona, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Sam Brownback of Kansas and George Allen of Virginia, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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Source: Associated Press on NewsMax.com
Jill Stein on Abortion
: Oct 9, 2002
Give women easy access to “morning after” pill
[I would] ensure that women have access to “emergency contraception” which generally involves a dose of birth control pills that are taken within a few days of unprotected sex. Emergency contraception is a safe way to prevent unintended pregnancy.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, emergency contraception can reduce unintended pregnancies by 50%.
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Source: Campaign web site, www.JillWill.org, “Issues”
Page last updated: Apr 30, 2013