Conservatives can't stop trying to take away women's rights

October 5, 2012

The Virginian-Pilot reports, "Del. Bob Marshall wants to free businesses from providing contraception coverage, a move that could limit access to the drugs through employer-backed health plans. Legislation that the Prince William County Republican has filed for the 2013 General Assembly session seeks to undermine a requirement in the Affordable Care Act that employers provide such coverage. In effect, Marshall's HB1314 and 1315 would give employers the option not to cover birth control pills, sterilization procedures or the morning-after pill."

Progressive Point: From personhood to vaginal probes to limiting contraception access, Virginia Republicans just can't seem to stop substituting their judgment for that of a woman and her doctor. Family planning decisions should be made by families. Politicians have no business inserting themselves into parents' decisions about when and how many kids to have.

Under President Obama's policy, women will get access to free birth control no matter where they work and no religious organization will be required to pay for it. Yet conservative politicians like Bob Marshall are actually proposing that any corporation should be able to deny any health service, whether contraception or any other basic care, to anyone who works for them for any reason. We can respect both religious liberty and women's health OR start letting corporations prevent parents from deciding when and how many kids to have.

Get the Facts:

• Bob Marshall's HB1315 would prohibit private insurers from offering policies that provide coverage for contraception unless it's specifically requested by the enrollee. (Virginian-Pilot, October 5, 2012)


• 99% of women use contraception at some time in their lives (Guttmacher Institute, July, 2012)


• More than half of women between 18 and 34 years old have struggled to afford contraception (Planned Parenthood, October, 12, 2010)


• Studies show that more than half of women taking oral contraceptives are using them to treat other health issues rather than prevent pregnancy (Guttmacher Institute, November 15, 2011)


• 61% of Americans support federally-mandated contraception coverage (CBS News, February 14, 2012)

Forward to a Friend via email

Share on Facebook

Tweet it: Conservatives can't stop trying to take away women's rights http://bit.ly/SBUpNa via @ProgressVA