What We're Reading This Morning -- May 22
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Good morning everyone! Today, Arkansas and Kentucky hold their primaries, while Mitt Romney fundraises in New York. And dominating the news today are the lawsuits filed by the Catholic Dioceses. So with that in mind, here’s what we’re reading this morning….
This isn’t a religious issue, this isn’t a political issue, the birth control benefit is a medical issue. “Catholic Dioceses, Institutions Sue Over Contraception Rule” — “Dozens of Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other institutions sued the Obama administration Monday over a government mandate requiring most employers to provide birth control coverage as part of their employee health plans. The lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country represent the largest push against the mandate since President Barack Obama announced the policy in January. Among those suing are the University of Notre Dame, the Archdioceses of Washington, New York and Michigan, and the Catholic University of America…. In a statement, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards decried the lawsuit as an attempt to restrict women's access to low-cost birth control. ‘Access to birth control is a critical health and economic concern for American women,’ Richards said. ‘It is unbelievable that in the year 2012 we have to fight for access to birth control. Yet this lawsuit would make it harder for millions of women to get birth control. Insurance companies should cover birth control just like any other preventive prescription, as the independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended.’”
Chump Ann Marie Buerkle who has consistently voted against women’s health and voted for the House version of the Violence Against Women Act, is the vice-chairman of a new Republican women’s caucus.“Republican Congresswomen Create A Caucus” — “After repeatedly being accused of participating in a legislative ‘war on women,’ Republican women in the House of Representatives announced Monday that they're forming a new caucus dedicated to raising their profile as female lawmakers and presenting a ‘unified voice’ on issues that affect women. The Women's Policy Committee includes all 24 GOP women in the House, and will be chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.). Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) will serve as vice chairmen…. Now, House Democrats are focusing on Republicans' failure to support equal pay legislation. ‘If the Republicans’ new Women’s Policy Committee was remotely interested in advancing issues important to America’s women, a top priority for this group would be the Paycheck Fairness Act,’ Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), told HuffPost. ‘Currently, not a single member of this group has agreed to cosponsor this legislation, which would prevent, regulate and reduce pay discrimination for women across the country.’”
Where do the ridiculous claims come from that cause politicians to suggest birth control causes prostate cancer? Politicians who have lost their faith in science. “Anti-science and anti-contraception” — “How can it be that we are firmly into the 21st century and reading claims that birth control pills can cause prostate cancer and abort babies? Or, my personal favorite, that a woman can be considered pregnant before her egg unites with a sperm? Such falsehoods are being touted not by yahoos but by educated conservatives who, in growing numbers, choose to ignore what science tells them. According to a paper in a recent American Sociological Review, conservatives with at least a bachelor's degree have, over the last several decades, lost their faith in science to an amazing degree. Although the paper doesn't cite advances in contraception specifically, they are clearly one victim of this disaffection. Our country's top health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, counts contraception as one of the 10 greatest health achievements of the 20th century. Yet recently: A state legislator from New Hampshire, opposed to insurance companies being required to pay for birth control, called attention to a report suggesting that birth control pills cause prostate cancer. (Certain drugs in those pills become waste and eventually pass into the environment, according to the report, exposing men to carcinogens.)….”
