What We're Reading - July 20
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Good morning, everyone and happy Friday! Here’s what we’re reading this morning…
Opponents continue to move forward with legislation that would restrict access to health care. “The contraception fight makes a comeback” – “For much of the spring, Republicans were quite annoyed by talk of the GOP's ‘war on women.’ By late April, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had just about had enough and delivered an angry tirade on the House floor. For Boehner and other Republicans, the very idea is trumped-up ‘fiction,’ based on bogus misconceptions cooked up by Democrats and sympathetic reporters. But if the right wants to see fewer reports about Republican policymakers acting against the interests of American women, then Republican policymakers should stop taking actions that undermine the interests of American women… Taking the lead on this, oddly enough, is subcommittee Chairman Denny Rehberg (R), who's in the middle of a spirited U.S. Senate race in Montana. It's odd for Rehberg to pick a fight over contraception -- a move that's unlikely to win him many votes in Montana -- but here we are. It's worth keeping an eye on this, not only because so many GOP lawmakers are preoccupied with limiting access to contraception, but also because it's unclear just how far Republicans are prepared to go. The threat of a pre-election spending standoff is real.”
The fight over birth control heats up between our Champ (Tester) and Chump (Rehberg) in Montana. “Tester Campaign Goes After Denny Rehberg For Reviving Birth Control Fight” – “Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is attacking his challenger Denny Rehberg for the Montana congressman’s role in reviving the contraception wars from earlier this spring, seeking to make it a campaign issue. Rehberg, the chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee on health, voted to advance legislation Wednesday that includes a provision repealing President Obama’s requirement that employer-provided health insurance plans offer birth control to female employees without co-pays. It passed the Rehberg-led panel on a party line vote. ‘All women should have access to basic health care services, but Congressman Dennis Rehberg keeps trying to take it away,’ Dayna Swanson, Tester’s deputy campaign manager, told TPM in a statement. ‘His priority is to protect tax breaks for fellow millionaires instead. Montana women cannot afford Congressman Rehberg’s irresponsible decisions in the Senate.’ A Rehberg campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. The GOP congressman had previously defended the bill in a statement Tuesday, saying, ‘This bill is about making tough choices, setting priorities and doing the right thing. By reining in spending and controlling over-regulation, this bill supports job creation and economic recovery.’ Like other Republicans, he has dismissed the notion of a ‘war on women.’”
Bishops continue to attack birth control. “Catholic Bishops Promote 'Natural' Family Planning Amid Battle Over Contraception Mandate” – “(RNS) Amid a battle with President Obama over a new contraception mandate, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops are promoting natural family planning -- but will their flock take heed? When the Obama administration in January announced that employers will have to provide contraception coverage to their employees, U.S. Catholic bishops took the lead in fighting the mandate. Allied with other denominations, the Catholic hierarchy has organized an energetic, nationwide effort to overturn this new federal rule. The Catholic Church calls birth control a sin, even as many Catholics practice it. The bishops are hoping to change that with their Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, an annual campaign that begins this Sunday (July 22). It's the church's only acceptable form of birth control, even as many sexuality educators consider it relatively unreliable. Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, then, may provide a window into a church teaching that is helping to drive the most serious standoff between the church and the federal government in decades.”
