Surprise, surprise, surprise
by digby
Gosh, it turns out that all those Republicans who wanted to make birth control available over the counter in the last election aren’t rushing to make that happen:
Remember how a bunch of Republicans, right before the election, started to get really excited about how much they loved contraception and how they wanted to make it easier for women to get by making prescription birth control pills available over-the-counter? Don’t feel bad if you forgot. I did, and I wrote multiple pieces at the time explaining some of the logistical problems with this plan, as well as expressing skepticism about their sincerity in offering this as an actual solution to women’s birth control woes. The issue, which was getting so much glowing coverage in the months before November, fell off the radar so abruptly after Election Day that it was almost as if it never happened.
But I was reminded of it again this week when Sen. Thom Tillis—who made a big, honking fuss during the election about how he loved the pill so much he wanted to make it as easy as gum and batteries for women to buy—hired a legislative director named Katy Talento. Talento is not a fan of the birth control pill, which she has falsely claimed causes infertility and works by aborting pregnancies. Perhaps Tillis’ opposition to mandatory insurance coverage of birth control is not rooted in a love of the “free market,” as he claimed prior to the election, or else he wouldn’t be so cozy with people who just don’t want you to have access to the pill at all. Seems like his stance regarding contraception was simply a cynical ploy to hoodwink moderates into voting for him after all. (Tillis has released a statement on the matter directing members of the public to see his campaign statements for his views on birth control.)
On the off chance this was a one-time situation, I thought I’d follow up with some of the other Republicans who burnished their pro-woman bona fides by touting their supposed support for over-the-counter (OTC) birth control. Are they busy drafting bills to make this happen? Are they pressuring the FDA to work on it? Asking drug companies to apply for OTC status for birth control?
Ha, no. Cory Gardner, who edged Mark Udall out in a tight race to win a senate seat for Colorado by trumpeting, in part, his new-found love for hormonal contraception, has not shown an ounce of enthusiasm for the subject since the election returns came in. A Google search for public statements on the issue or legislative efforts starting from November 5, the day after Election Day, produces zip in the way of attempts to make those OTC birth control pills a reality. But he’s had plenty of time to co-sponsor multiple bills intended to repeal Obamacare, even though he and his fellow Republicans know that those bills would, if they ever passed, be immediately vetoed by President Obama. Priorities, I guess.
Same story with Barbara Comstock, who won a congressional race in Virginia trying to downplay her opposition to reproductive health-care access by talking a big game about OTC birth control pills. That gusto has vanished into thin air since the election. Her legislative record shows zero interest or movement on this issue, though she too has co-sponsored go-nowhere legislation intended to repeal Obamacare.
I suspect if we check in with these folks a year from now, we’ll get the same results.
A very safe bet.