Republican Congressman Cory Gardner is out with a new ad this week highlighting his support for over-the-counter birth control, specifically “the pill.”
“I believe that women across the country should be given access to the birth control pill without a prescription, 24 hours a day. This would allow millions of women across the country more control over their private healthcare decisions,” Gardner is quoted in a release accompanying the video.
“Mark Udall believes that the government has a role in your healthcare decisions. This means more delays, and more profits for drug companies,” Gardner continues. “This is a major difference, and one that highlights our underlying philosophies of the role government should play in our lives.”
Gardner is more or less the GOP pioneer of this free-market birth control approach to combating both Democrats’ general allegations that his party is waging a war on women and Team Udall’s specific campaign emphasis on Gardner’s continued support of a federal personhood measure that could outlaw some forms of birth control.
The Udall campaign was quick to respond to Gardner’s latest ad on social media pointing out what they say is a serious contradiction in policy:
#protip People who support access to birth control don’t support bills that would ban it. #copolitics cc @CoryGardner pic.twitter.com/uSjBf8rc9P — Chris Harris (@chris_p_harris) September 2, 2014
In other followup the Udall campaign joined with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists allowing that over the counter birth control could be a good option for improving access, but only if insurance remains part of the puzzle because provisions of the Affordable Care Act allow women to get birth control at no additional cost through their insurance.
[The mythical intrauterine device, pictured above, source of much coverage controversy, see: Hobby Lobby. Photo by Mara.]
