Lauren Hale is glad McCain is encouraging the GOP to start discussing jobs and the economy.
Sex sells. It sells products, it boosts images, it sells. In marketing, that is, sex sells.
The instant you insert any kind of discussion regarding sex into the political arena, however, people get hot and bothered. Not in a good way either. Names fly, arguments ensue, and everyone suddenly has a say about who can do what, where, when, how, and why. Many argue about money. Others argue about a right to choice. Still others take it to the age old question of “when does life really begin?” in the debate about abortion.
Recently, sex has been corner point for both parties, embroiled as they are in a battle over reproductive rights and a woman’s right to birth control under Obamacare. Is this really something we want to make a cornerstone of the campaign season though? Should a woman’s right to birth control be the focus of a heated political debate?
John McCain seems to think the Republican Party needs to “get off that issue..” according to a statement he made during his 64th visit to Meet the Press last weekend. The full statement made by Senator McCain is as follows:
“I think we have to fix that. I think there’s a perception because of the way the whole contraception (issue) played out, and we need to get off that issue, and we need to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and get back to what the people care about, jobs and the economy.”
Finally.
While McCain certainly has a maverick reputation within the GOP and his voice as an independent has faltered in the past, it is refreshing to finally hear someone higher up in the ranks make such a statement and stand up for women.
As a conservative-leaning woman, I have struggled to make heads or tales of the way my reproductive rights have been bandied about in the recent weeks. When I wrote “How Did We Get to Where We Are in the Political Birth Control Debate? A Short History, ” I stated I believe in taking responsibility for my behaviour. That doesn’t mean I want to gleefully hand over my rights to someone else. Nor do I want choice taken away from others. What it means is that I don’t expect anyone else to pay for my chosen behaviour.
I am glad McCain is encouraging the GOP to start discussing jobs and the economy. Yes, reproductive rights are an important issue, but they are not an issue which should be used as a hot topic in an election year. My uterus and rights therein are not a pathway to election. I would greatly appreciate all politicians respecting this.
Thank you, Senator McCain, for encouraging the national discussion to get back to what really matters right now.
Democrats? Care to follow his lead as well and guide the discussion back to really fixing this country?
AP Photo/Tim Hacker
No one in the GOP was talking about contraception .. until .. the Obama Administration released its shockingly controversial decision to force religious institutions to provide free birth control in defiance of their First Amendment rights. The “maelstrom” was caused by liberals who deliberately distorted and demogogued the debate to become one whether women were “entitled” to birth control, arguing that the GOP wanted to deprive women of contraception. A pernicious lie, of course, but one that played well with the liberal base and which the Mainstream Media was happy to propagandize. No GOP candidate ever suggested contraception should be… Read more »
Well someone needed to raise a fuss. There is no rationale for forcing this one non-medical item into the “free” category and not including other actual medical products and services.
“that hormonal contraception is not about a woman’s behaviour. Whether you’re only having sex once a year with your husband or whether you’re having a one-night stand every single night….the hormonal contraception requirements are the same.”
Obviously those are not the same. It is about behavior, and choice, and why should this one choice be rewarded with “Free” stuff when other actual medical products that address real issues are not?
“Obviously those are not the same.” The hormonal contraception requirements are the same. The way hormonal contraception works, is that you take it as a preventative method over a period of time. This is not reliant on how often you’re planning on having sex. The difference between this and a barrier method is that with a barrier, the person uses it only in the event of actually having sex. So the more condoms you use, for example, the more sex you are having. With the pill, however, you do not take more pills if you have more sex. So if… Read more »
hormonal contraception, is also not sole used as a contraceptive , my lady needs it to help regulate her cycle as does one of my daughters. this is why it specifically is in the free column, the use of ” the pill to help regulate cycles for women with dangerous, or at least counter productive cycling patterns in not uncommon but gets blithely left out of the rhetoric but it doesn’t match up with the arguments. so should we repackage the same medicine and NOT call it contraceptive so it can be covered or just all freaking deal, it’s a… Read more »
“Democrats? Care to follow his lead as well and guide the discussion back to really fixing this country?” I was with you until you mentioned this bit. I mean I don’t want to be snarky about it…but it isn’t the democrats who raised a huge fuss over the contraception requirement for insurance companies… As to this point: “What it means is that I don’t expect anyone else to pay for my chosen behaviour.” And I’d just again like to point out that hormonal contraception is not about a woman’s behaviour. Whether you’re only having sex once a year with your… Read more »
Senator McCain is mearly following in the footsteps of the ‘Godfather’ of Arizona politics Barry Goldwater, who felt government should ‘stay out of our personel lives’. By the same token however, if you depend on the government to pay for your healthcare , including concraceptives, you invite them into your bedroom.