And you thought George W. Bush was bad…
by Elizabeth Shipp, political director, NARAL Pro-Choice America
As the Republicans prepare for tonight’s YouTube debate on CNN, it seems that they have women’s reproductive rights (or lack thereof) on the brain. It’s a veritable “I trust women LESS than you do” free-for-all in the daily news clips, and it’s pretty scary. With the exception of one candidate, all of the Republican candidates have called specifically for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.
In one corner, you have the National Right to Life Committee endorsing Fred Thompson. In another corner you have the co- founder of the Moral Majority throwing his support behind “multiple-choice” Mitt Romney. And then there’s Mike Huckabee, who is trying to out “anti-choice” them all. Yesterday’s LA Times had a great story if you’d like to read more.
Could it get any worse than what’s already being said about women and their apparent inability to make choices for themselves? Well, the answer might surprise you.
These guys sure have been busy talking out of both sides of their respective mouths.
As bad as these candidates are on a woman’s right to choose, the silence has been deafening when it comes to one issue: BIRTH CONTROL. Where do these presidential candidates stand on this issue?
NARAL Pro-Choice America asked its member-activists to submit their own questions for tonight’s debate. Here are some examples of the questions these candidates should answer:
1. Do you think it’s okay for an insurance company to pay for Viagra but refuse to cover prescription contraception?
2. Do you think it’s okay for a pharmacy to refuse to fill a woman’s prescription for birth control based on an employee’s personal view against contraception?
3. Do you believe hospital emergency rooms should be allowed to withhold information from a rape survivor about emergency contraception--which can prevent a pregnancy if taken soon after the assault?
4. If you support the so-called Human Life Amendment, does that mean that you also support banning most common forms of birth control, like the pill?
With everything going on in our world these days, it may seem like these questions aren't the most important ones to ask of these candidates. But trust me – if you care about your health and your ability to make your own choices without political interference, the answers to these questions are critically important.
We can't afford for these anti-choice candidates to continue to refuse to address important issues that impact our daily lives. (We saw what happened to us in '00 and '04 when we let that happen!) If you want to learn more about the presidential candidates' positions on choice, go to: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/.
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