A con job on contraceptives

by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, September 9, 2014.

Lacking popular support to turn back the clock, the right tries to pull a fast one

It’s one of the great political wonders of 21^st Century America: Nearly 50 years after the United States Supreme Court struck down the quasi-medieval laws of states that then barred even married couples from obtaining contraceptives, some conservative activists have still not given up. Despite longstanding and overwhelming public agreement that contraceptives should be easy for all women to obtain (and all men for that matter), the hardcore right wing continues to do everything within its power to erect roadblocks.

The most recent example is the already-infamous Hobby Lobby ruling of earlier this summer in which the Supreme Court held that it’s somehow a violation of the constitutional religious freedoms of the owners of a company to be required to provide coverage for contraceptives in a health care policy. (As an aside, this begs the question “what’s next?” What if a company’s owner opposes blood transfusions on religious grounds? Can they limit those in health policies too?)

Amazingly, though, if one pays attention to the efforts of the anti-contraceptives movement, it’s clear that decisions like Hobby Lobby are far short of the ultimate goal. These groups and individuals (almost all with close ties to the religious right) still harbor the rather remarkable aim of enacting so-called “personhood amendments” that would confer constitutional rights on fertilized eggs. And after that, who knows? Some devotees in this camp adhere to the strict belief that male sperm cells are sacred as well.

A dilemma for conservative politicians

The energy of the relatively small but committed core of activists behind this extreme agenda has put a lot of conservative politicians (especially conservative men) in a bit of a bind of late. Already facing falling poll numbers amongst women and, indeed, criticism in some circles that they have been conducting a “war on women” (not to mention the plain messages from most of their wives and daughters that they, sure as heck, are not going to give up their access to contraceptives) some have felt trapped recently and attempted an awkward pivot toward a “middle ground’ on the issue.

As the Washington Post’s “Plum Line” blog noted yesterday, several conservative politicians around the country have – almost all at once – started repeating the talking point that they’re actually for “over the counter” access to contraceptives.

The hot new trend among Republican candidates is a surprising one, to say the least. As of now there are four GOP Senate contenders who have endorsed making birth control pills available over the counter.

All four — Cory Gardner in Colorado, Thom Tillis in North Carolina, Ed Gillespie in Virginia, and Mike McFadden in Minnesota — oppose abortion rights, and all four oppose the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that insurance policies pay for preventative care, including birth control, with no deductibles or co-pays. Yet these conservative Republicans are touting their deep commitment to easily available birth control. It’s likely that more Republicans will now be asked their position on OTC birth control, and some will embrace it to counter Dem criticism that they’re soldiers in a “war on women.”

At first blush, this switcheroo seems like a real “180” and a fairly momentous step. The Plum Line post describes Colorado’s Gardner – a supporter of the personhood amendment idea – as almost sounding like Gloria Steinem in an ad touting his support for “OTC” contraceptives. What in the heck is going on?

A political shell game

Not surprisingly, there is a catch to all this. As was explained by both the Post and the Charlotte Observer on its editorial page over the weekend, the trick lies in the conservative politicians’ deceptive use of a term (“over the counter contraceptives”) that really has no practical meaning.

Currently, the main and most effective contraceptives available to women are not available without a prescription (i.e. “over the counter”). Moreover, as Planned Parenthood Vice President and occasional N.C. Policy Watch contributor Melissa Reed pointed out in a statement last week,

…while leading women’s health experts agree that some forms of birth control should be made available OTC, there is not a single manufacturer that has submitted an application to the FDA to do so.”

In other words, to be “for” OTC contraceptives without providing any genuine specifics about how and when the government would go about effecting such a momentous change is meaningless and a downright deceptive and empty gesture.

But the deception doesn’t end there. As multiple advocates and observers have pointed out, these same politicians who are supposedly in favor of OTC contraceptives have consistently done everything within their power to defeat and repeal the single law that has done more than any other in memory to make contraceptives available to women of low and middle income: the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”).

As Reed explained, that law has saved American women $483 million over the last year alone by requiring their health insurers to cover the full cost of contraceptives (i.e. around $600 per year, per woman).

Thus the claim that you are “for” access to OTC contraceptives with the knowledge that a) no such thing really exists and b) you are simultaneously committed to undermining the law that makes contraceptives affordable for millions of women under current circumstances, is about as cynical as it gets.

A wink and a nod from the far right base?

Once one sets aside the startling cynicism of the supposed pro-OTC position, however, it’s easy to see why conservative consultants cooked it up. It provides those who mouth it with an easy, superficial appearance of reasonableness (at least to those paying only superficial attention) while committing them to no genuine or even remotely likely policy change. Add to this the bonus fact that wealthy women like their wives, daughters and girlfriends would still have access to contraceptives if anything akin to such a position ever actually did somehow become law and the political allure becomes even more apparent.

It’s much like the situation with cynical anti-choice politicians who would – you can bet your bottom dollar — still be ready, willing and able to afford and arrange abortions in the nearest convenient location for their wives, daughters and girlfriends whatever the law in their own states.

And while some of the true believers on the extreme right are unhappy with the “pro-OTC” position and have mildly criticized the politicians espousing it, one gets the distinct impression that there is almost a “wink and a nod” arrangement between anti-contraception advocates and the conservative pols. Both groups know that they need each other for now and have no intention of severing their pragmatic alliance.

Going forward

In the long run, of course, all bets are off. Whatever the position of cynical politicians, the hard core on the religious right will keep pushing for contraceptive bans, “personhood” amendments, the “sacredness” of sperm cells and numerous other extreme ideas that most people thought had been left behind in previous centuries. They will, that is, until the overwhelming majority of Americans who reject such nonsense stand up and say “no” repeatedly and loudly at each opportunity they get.

Let’s get to work.

http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2014/09/09/a-con-job-on-contraceptives/