Last week we learned how questions about birth control cause John McCain's so-called "Straight Talk Express" to veer off track in a big way (watch this priceless-but-disturbing video clip [15] for a first-hand look). Now, thanks to the Bush administration's proposed regulations [16] that could discourage doctors and health clinics from providing women with access to contraception, birth control is back in the picture -- and that's not good news for McCain. The Straight Talk Express is going to hit a few more bumps.
The fundamental question for McCain is whether he thinks birth control programs should cover birth control.
Do we seriously have to ask
this question in 2008? Yes, yes, we do. Let's remember we are talking
about someone who voted against family planning twenty-two times [17].
Here are just four examples
of how the Bush regulations [18] could affect women's access to contraception:
- This regulation could affect good state laws that require hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims.
- The regulation could undermine laws that ensure pharmacies fill women's prescriptions for birth control. (The Straight Talk Express should stop by some pharmacy counters and ask women what they think about this one. I'm just making the suggestion.)
- The proposal could allow health-care corporations (hospitals, HMOs, and health plans) to refuse to provide services or make referrals not only for abortion but also for birth control.
- Twenty seven states have laws requiring health-care plans to cover contraception on an equal basis with other prescription medications. This draft regulation could threaten that guarantee, on which millions of women rely for their birth control.
We are eager to hear McCain answer questions about each provision. Wait, I know, perhaps he could refer this matter to Carly Fiorina. She should be up to speed on McCain's record since we shared it with her last week [19]. (And, no, she has not sent a thank-you note.)
Phil Gramm can weigh in,
too. I am sure there is enough "straight talk" to go around.
Related Posts
- Cristina Page, HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion [18]