REALLY? Rep. Steve King Denies He Tried to Block Access to Birth Control
Spread the word
|
|
Yesterday, Iowa Rep. Steve King denied that he supports banning contraceptives and objects to the misconception that he would prevent couples the right to access birth control.
In fact, King went on to say he can’t recall taking a policy stance on birth control during his last 16 years in public office. It seems King has forgotten about the last few years when he became one of the most outspoken and well-known opponents of women getting access to health care.
According to King, “If I were opposed to it, I would have introduced a bill. I mean, look at my history. I have had 16 years out there. I don’t know why they have to make things up. My record is clear, and I have never even given it a thought to step up and oppose contraception. I let people manage their lives the way they will,” said King.
But just last year, King took to the House Floor to warn against the “dangers” of the birth control benefit in the Affordable Care Act:
“We have people that are single, we have people that are past reproductive age, we have priests that are celibate. All of them, paying insurance premiums that cover contraceptives so that somebody else doesn't have to pay the full fare of that? And they've called it preventative medicine. Preventative medicine. Well if you applied that preventative medicine universally what you end up with is you've prevented a generation. Preventing babies from being born is not medicine. That's not — that's not constructive to our culture and our civilization. If we let our birth rate get down below replacement rate we're a dying civilization.”
And that’s not his only comment against birth control…. On MSNBC King told Martin Bashir that he doesn’t believe birth control pills prevent pregnancies and suggested they’re a form of abortion, “The objection that the Catholic Church and I have to the morning after pill is because it ends the life of an unborn baby." [MSNBC, 2/10/12]
His own Congressional website touts his credentials working to prevent access to birth control, “In Congress, I have cosponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would establish personhood at the moment of conception and guarantee the constitutional right to life for unborn children.” He neglects to mention that one of the consequences of this extreme and dangerous “personhood” measure could ban forms of birth control.
The evidence is in — and it’s not in King’s favor. While King may have forgotten about his outrageous comments on birth control — something 99 percent of sexually active American women have used at least once in their lives — we sure haven’t.
