The Root of the Conservative War on Contraception Comes From a Deep-seated Anxiety

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/imahe

The new GOP code word this year is "dependency," and they're afraid of it for a few different reasons.

April 4, 2012

Liberals have documented the existence of a bitter Republican campaign against women’s health and freedom, but I don’t think we’ve identified its cause or its full intent. It may be hurting Republicans almost as much as it’s hurting women: New Gallup poll data released Monday found that Obama leads Romney 51 percent to 42 percent among registered voters in 12 swing states. Last month he trailed the Republican by 2 points. The change is due to a sharp shift among women: Obama now leads Romney among women under the age of 50 by 30 points; that lead was 5 points in February.

Some panicked Republicans insist crafty Democrats are the ones playing the culture wars, but we’ve debunked that: Democrats didn’t make the GOP presidential field back “personhood” laws that would criminalize some forms of birth control. They didn’t force the newly elected House GOP to make defunding Planned Parenthood their first legislative goal. And they didn’t propose the Blunt Amendment that would have allowed employers to withhold health insurance coverage not only for contraception, but for any treatment they disapproved of — or make every Republican senator vote for it, except the outgoing Olympia Snowe.  READ MORE

Pat Robertson Talks Sandra Fluke's 'Fornication,' Says 'Rush Limbaugh Got A Little Bit Over The Top'

Televangelist Pat Robertson addressed Sandra Fluke's "fornication" and said that "Rush Limbaugh got a little bit over the top" when he referred to Fluke as a "slut" and a "prostitute."

Robertson discussed Fluke's testimony at a Democratic hearing on contraception with Jerry Bell of the American Principles Project on his CBN show "700 Club" on Wednesday. In her testimony, Fluke -- a third-year law student at Georgetown Law, a Jesuit institution -- said her school does not provide contraception coverage in its student health plan and that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school.

"[Fluke] said that students needed $3,000 a year for contraception and that they couldn’t afford it," Robertson said. "As I understand, the Catholic school was supposed to pay for it. Now Catholics say that fornication, if you will, sex outside of marriage, is a sin. This woman is saying 'I'm going to be committing sin but I want you to pay for my sin.'"

Bell took his attack on Fluke a step further, insisting that Fluke's mission is part of a part of a 200 year plot to destroy religion & the family.  READ MORE

Rush Limbaugh And Birth Control: Anti-Science On The Airwaves (VIDEO)

CARA SANTA MARIA: Hi everybody. I'm Cara Santa Maria. As you all know, Rush Limbaugh made some comments this past week that raised more than a few eyebrows. In addition to being anti-woman, what he said is fundamentally anti-science:
RUSH LIMBAUGH: What does it say about the college co-ed "Susan" Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? Makes her a prostitute.   READ MORE

Breasts Yes, Vaginas No? How to Fight Back Against Komen "Race for the Cure" Foundation's Bizarre Capitulation to Right-Wingers

How the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation put their corporation-friendly image before women’s actual health concerns.

February 1, 2012

It’s probably the fastest-spreading story in Internet history about the relationship between two non-profits. Late Tuesday afternoon, Planned Parenthood and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure announced that Komen would be withdrawing grants given to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings. Despite Komen’s lame attempts to claim otherwise, it was widely understood that this was about Komen aligning itself with the anti-choice movement, despite the anti-choice movement’s long history of opposing not just safe and legal abortion, but also access to contraception and even the prevention of cervical cancer through the use of the HPV vaccine. 

So what gives? Why would Komen, which purports to be a women’s health organization, choose to align itself with an anti-health, anti-science movement instead of with another prominent women’s health organization that actually helps prevent and detect cancer? What role does Komen’s hearty corporate fundraising efforts play in all of this?  READ MORE