McCain Opposes Contraception - Pass It On

[babylonsister]

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/anotherthing/337332

McCain Opposes Contraception - Pass It On
posted by Katha Pollitt on 07/17/2008 @ 12:12pm


snip//

Here's the story. Last week, Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who has been helping McCain look bright-eyed and estrogen-friendly, told reporters that women wanted more choice in their health care plans; for example, it bothered women when plans covered Viagra but not contraception. Big mistake! McCain had voted against a bill that would have required plans to cover birth control if they covered prescription meds at all, like, um, Viagra. McCain's nonresponse when queried about this by a reporter was astonishing. As posted on Youtube, he squirms and grins and smirks (Viagra! Embarrassing!) and fumfers about evasively. "I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer," he manages to splutter, "because I don't recall the vote, I've cast thousands of votes... it's something I've not thought much about."

So. John McCain is so opposed to contraception he voted against requiring insurance plans to cover it like other drugs, and either so indifferent to women's health and rights or just so out of it he doesn't even remember how he voted. That's the way to show American women you really care.

This is not a trivial issue. There's the basic unfairness of not covering these essential, even life-saving drugs and devices, so fundamental to women's health and well-being, and the added insult of denying coverage while men are lavished with cut-rate erections. And there's the craven submission to religious extremists that moves the politics of that denial. It's a pocket-book issue, too: A year's worth of contraception can cost a woman $600. That's a lot of money. Is it too much to expect the next president of the United States to understand that? Now that every politican in America prides himself on knowing the price of a gallon of milk and talks like he's just finished doing the week's shopping for a family of ten?

The story heated up the blogosphere, but a Nexis search at the beginning of this week found only 61 mentions in print and on TV, and most of those were passing references in stories about McCain's bad week (Phil Gramm calling Americans "a nation of whiners" obsessed with a "mental recession" got most of the attention) or focused on the effect Fiorina's off-message remark will have on her vice-presidential chances.

Where is the discussion of the real issue, which is that for over twenty years John McCain has voted against contraception every time it came up and -- now he tells us! -- doesn't even care or know enough to explain why. Women --and men -- need to know where he stands on this issue so basic to health and human flourishing if they are going to make informed decisions in the polling booth. But so far the media has refused to present McCain's anti-contraception record as a big, coherent story that tells us a great deal about who he is and what policies he would pursue in the White House.

Maybe The New Yorker could do a cover about it. Then the media might find it interesting enough to discuss.

[gateley]

1. Gladly. I'd pass it on even if it weren't true. :-) nt

[patrice]

2. McCrash et al: FOR the wherewithal to get Women pregnant, BUT against the wherewithal

for Women to have choices for what to do about that.

[sellitman]

3. Why you picking on the old kodger?

Im sure he doesn't remember much of anything he has said and done without the aid of staff.

The real story here is he is too old to serve effectively.

[babylonsister]

4. Someone has to; the m$m appears to have fallen down and can't

get up, so I'm filling in. ;)

[Kdillard]

5. Kick

[pleah]

6. McPeckerperk hates women. n/t

[indepat]

7. McShame being McShame by confirming every day that he is a fool in addition to

being stupid and ignorant, not to mention reichous, mendacious, disingenuous, and a fatally flawed person with an even more flawed ideology imo: he also oozes hypocrisy from every pore. Other than for those, I've alway kinda liked him. :D

[Youphemism]

8. It should be passed along as an example of gender bias in the media...

You can bet that if they were talking about why *Viagra* isn't covered, there would be some real concern shown.

This only got airplay as a McCain gaffe, because he sputtered, fidgeted, and gave an almost insane glare off into space while answering. They didn't address the issue at all.