What We're Reading This Morning -- February 22
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Good morning everyone! We hope you had an enjoyable evening and celebrated Mardi Gras in style because tonight we buckle down for a Republican presidential debate. This is the final debate before Super Tuesday on March 6, when voters in 10 states go to the polls. We’re expecting that women’s health, and particularly contraception, will be topics for discussion. We’ll be live-Tweeting and fact checking as always. And speaking of fact checking, here’s what we’re reading this morning:
False Claims from Mitt Romney on Obama Contraception Rule. “Romney Lies About Obama’s Birth Control Rule in Michigan” – “Mitt Romney misled a voter in Shelby Township, Michigan about President Obama’s rule requiring insurers and employers to provide contraception coverage to employees during a town hall Tuesday afternoon. Romney grossly misrepresented the measure, claiming that under the new requirement, ‘the Catholic Church had to provide for insurance that provided contraceptives, sterilization, morning after pills to the employees of the Church.’ But as Romney himself has previously admitted, both the original provision and the modified language specifically exclude houses of worship and nonprofit organizations that primarily employ people of the same faith from providing birth control coverage.”
A hearing of their own. After Congressman Issa denied the only witness on behalf of the Democratic minority the right to testify in favor of the new birth control benefit, female Democrats are hosting a hearing of their own. But not all is fair in politics and House Republicans won’t allow it to be televised. “Female Dem lawmakers set to step up birth control fight”—“In case you were wondering whether Dems see the birth control fight as a potential winner for them, this just landed in the old inbox: ‘Nancy Pelosi announced today that the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on the issue of women’s health. The sole witness at the hearing will be Ms. Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University, who was blocked from testifying at a recent Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing by Chairman Darrell Issa. Instead, Chairman Issa brought forward a panel of all men to testify on this topic.’”
Changing their tune, Virginia lawmakers back away from ultrasound bill. “Ultrasound bill may be revised, sources say” – “In the face of widespread public criticism, some General Assembly members say they are working behind the scenes to ‘soften’ a controversial bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound examination before having an abortion. Republicans on Tuesday delayed a vote for the second day in a row on SB 484, sponsored by Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier County. Two legislators -- one a conservative Republican -- speaking on the condition of anonymity, said officials have discussed making the ultrasound legislation optional.”
