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Jennifer HemmingsenI'm a columnist and member of The Gazette's editorial board. I live in Iowa City. Twitter: @jhemmingsen, or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hemmingsenyah |
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GOP’s ‘female problem’
Multimedia
Photo: hearing
From left, Reverend William E. Lori, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., Reverend Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President, The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy Union University, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Director Straus Center of Torah and Western Thought, Yeshiva University and Craig Mitchell, Associate Professor of Ethics of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing: "Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion & Freedom of Conscience." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
How did a debate about religious freedom and health care devolve into a bizarre discussion about why and whether (and what sort of) women need access to contraception in the first place?
In an effort to explain away Thursday’s mind-boggling gaffes, some Republicans are claiming they are victims of an elaborate scheme to discredit them. That holds as much water as Rick Santorum backer Foster Friess’ family planning advice.
Friess’ on-air recollection about how in his day, contraceptive care was easy — women simply kept their knees together — is almost too wild to be offensive, even if he intended it (as he now says) as a joke. Almost. Friess was trying to downplay questions about Santorum’s controversial positions on contraceptive freedom. Instead, he ignited a firestorm.
Women’s groups have called his statements irresponsible, which they are, although I’d like to think even impressionable women of childbearing age would know better than to base medical decisions on the ramblings of some investment manager old enough to be their grandpa. (Just in case, ladies: No. Aspirin will not prevent conception.)
I’m just baffled the billionaire septuagenarian thought he could defend his guy, now polling neck and neck with Mitt Romney, by effectively calling half the U.S. adult population a bunch of whores.
Cut to Capitol Hill, where Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) apparently saw nothing weird about an all-male revue discussing a ruling that institutions such as hospitals and universities, regardless of religious affiliation, must include free birth control coverage in employee health plans.
To be fair, a couple representatives of the fairer sex had a chance to speak later in the afternoon.
But by that time, of course, the photo had gone viral: A lineup of five shlumpy, middle-aged men in dark suits talking about women’s access to contraception.
And here we are.
They’re calling it another culture war — over birth control. In 2012.
What began as a legitimate question — how to balance religious freedom with employees’ access to medical care — has mutated into a battle of moralistic coots vs. women. Strike that — versus nearly everyone. Ask any half of a heterosexual couple: Family planning ain’t just for females.
It’s an unwinnable position — one any political operative would kill to place his opponent in.
Too bad Republicans have only their own tone-deafness to blame.
Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net
The social conservatives walked right into Obama’s trap, and then started blowing off their toes with a shotgun. This discussion has turned into who should have access to birth control, and I shake my head. That was not the original discussion. The original debate, should organizations who find birth control immoral be force to PAY for it, was lost. Nobody was talking about access to birth control. Then, Santorum and other social conservatives had to pull out their bibles and swing it around like a club.
I agree with you Jennifer. With all the things going on right now, why it the world are we talking about access to birth control.
So Brad, why haven’t church-owned businesses been griping about state regs which have required them to offer contraceptive coverage for years?
That your side has picked this fight shows how out-of-touch you are with the daily realities and values of most Americans. How about the bishops just shut up and pay, like they have already been doing for years?
Jeff – insurance companies were not required to cover contraception, at least not in Iowa. I don’t know about other states, but that is what this whole thing is about.
Social Conservatism is not my side. I’m more Libertarian in nature. I don’t think it’s the government’s role to tell people to do things that have no recourse to other people. I also don’t believe the government should force people to do things.
That’s funny, Brad, since other users here have noted that some 27 or 28 states have regs requiring contraception coverage; KCRG-TV9 reported in a story that Mt. Mercy University, a Catholic Church-run institution, has provided contraceptive coverage in its employee health insurance for years.
Sorry to hear you’re a libertarian. In my experience, male libertarians have been utterly terrible on the issue of abortion, since they, almost to a man, don’t mind seeing government intrude on a decision that should only be made by a woman and her doctor. I still shake my head at my conversation with a libertarian at a TEA faction rally. He was so concerned about finding some dividing line where he could pronounce with absolute certainty that a fetus was a baby, and that government had to step in and ban abortion.
Andf look at what you’re doing here, Brad. Your vision of “liberty” privileges the power of an institution or organization, in this case the Catholic Church, over individuals, the people who are employed at Church-owned universities and hospitals.
Your definition of freedom is negative: the Church must be allowed to express its doctrine by asserting its power as employer over its employees by denying them contraceptive coverage in their health plans.
If this is libertarianism, Brad, I have absolutely zero interest.
Obama doesn’t need to set traps. All he has to do is his job and the social conservatives will do everything they can to discredit him. Usually at their own peril. I think they’re actually up to their knees by now.
Kurt, this was a non-issue until a week ago when Obama announced this. Up until then, Obama was on the defensive with jobs, economy, etc. I’ll give him credit, he’s a hell of a politician.
To most women Brad, this was and always will be an issue, whether or not there’s a controversy over it.
Jennifer: Great column. Yes, I’m not sure why a health care panel discussing birth control failed to include any women. The mixing of political and social issues is a recipe for failure.
Be sure to ask Lyle for a raise, Jennifer.
As a Marxist, I’m used to being told my ideology is “Utopian.” Yet, if you’ve been following the discussions on this issue in the Gazette, it is folks who support the Catholic bishops who have made Utopian arguments. This has gone so far that you now can read comments from folks who think civil rights laws which punish businesses for racial discrimination are tyrannical; their Utopian, completely impractical, almost mystical intonation is “let the market decide.”
This controversy really is about the 3 P’s: power, property, and privilege. The folks who have the 3 P’s, who aspire to them, or who defer to them, expect the rest of us to just meekly sit back, surrender our freedoms, and become good, compliant citizens.
That Rick Santorum has become the leading challenger to Mitt Romney shows how dysfunctional and out-of-touch that party and its activist base has become.
They could at least have gotten Phyllis Schafly on their “panel,” but I imagine that would have made this farce even MORE disturbing.
Keep squawking GOP… I don’t think your candidates will be feeling much “love” from the ladies this fall.
The GOP’ers speak with fork tongue, even their own beliefs clash with each other. The GOP’ers say they want to cut welfare,medicare ,food stamps,subsidize housing,etc,etc.The gOP’ers want to make abortion and birth control illegal in America. My question is who are going to pay for the millions of babies born into welfare or wards of the state each year,over and above the number born today. These babies will be unloved and unwanted, with a lot of special needs. This will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars, and the GOP will have expanded welfare,not cut it.
The fact that the GOP has picked a fight over whether or not insurance companies should be required to cover womens’ birth control, and whether or not Catholic businesses should be required to offer it at all shows just how out of touch with reality the GOP really is and how desperate they are to win this fall.
How out of touch and desperate the GOP is…
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/17/new-hampshire-lawmaker-suggests-the-pill-causes-cancer-in-men/
How can anyone take them seriously?
Beats the heck out of me…
Jumpin’ Jehovah, Julie! This story belongs in the “Daily Onion!”
LOL! It sure does, Jeff. Here’s another example of how polarizing contraception has become – except this one is just plain sad.
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/green_bay/pantry-turns-down-planned-parenthood#.Tz–F-sSzm4.twitter
That’s not sad, that’s pathetic.
Talk about “pretzel logic!” Catholic doctrine demands that Church-affiliated charities, in defense of the church’s “dignity of life” doctrine, turn down a donation of food from Planned Parenthood!?
Sigh…
I agree the debate is not about freedom of religion, but freedom to be able to control one’s own body and to have afortable health care for women. Why are all these white males determining what a women shoud do for birth control GOP wants a smaller government but wants to get involved in everyone’s bedroom. Maybe we should all take our concealed weapon to our favorite bar, start drinking and have disscussion about women’s health care.
Jennifer, congratulations, this is your funniest column to date!
It would be funny, Paul, if it weren’t so true.
Well, I thought this was funny: “…although I like to think even impressionable women of childbearing age would know better than to base medical decisions on the ramblings of some investment manager old enough to be their grandpa. (Just in case, ladies: No. Aspirin will not prevent contraception.)
I guess this would only not be funny unless the reader thinks that the man who said this said that you should ingest it! But, he didn’t. l thought every one knew what the aspirin between the knees meant. It is an old and not very fun joke. So, Jennifer, did you mean your statement to be a serious comment? Wow; l would never have guessed!
Thank you! I agree with Julie that it’s serious issue, but last week’s events were so absurd I couldn’t help but poke a little fun…
As someone who used to vote mostly R until Newt, Rove, and Bush2 came along, I still can’t believe what our once good R party has now become. Can anyone explain to me why any thinking person would possibly still suport this party of losers?
As an independent, but Democratic-leaner, who voted for years for people like Jim Leach ( no room in the party for people like him now ) and Grassley, I can’t think of one Republican to consider now. It ain’t the party of Ike any more. Re “thinking person”, those who have their heads in the Fox News – conservative talk radio (is there any other kind?) echo chamber are largely not encumbered by the thought process.
The most infuriating thing I find among the right wing is their consant nattering about “government intrusion”, which they presumably do not want, until it involves their sacred cows. Then they want all kinds of government intrusion, like constitutional amendments to outlaw abortion and gay marriage, and mandatory drug testing without probable cause or evidence for anyone who needs government assistance. That clown Friess essentially called 150 million American women whores. That would be a more accurate description of Congress, especially on the right side of the aisle, as eager as they are to sell their “principles” for a few religious voters.
Oh, the hypocrisy!
That was in response to your comment, Paul.
Since we have dispensed with “social conservative humor” I have to bring up what a friend purportedly tells me an elderly Italian woman told the Pope about contraception:”You no playa the game; you no maka the rules.”
That’s a quote from Earl Butz, Nixon’s Ag Secretary.
I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.
As usual, not a single Republican comment. Why , have they all abandoned the Gazette?
Merle, perhaps there are no comments because they are finally starting to understand that the once respectable R party has now become the one of “send in the clowns …. they are already here”. Once they had Newt G, Carl R, an finally George B2 , I srarted to vote for the Demos. Lets hoope the D’s get the message and represent the people now.
I’m really late to this latest GOP bashing party. Partly because I rarely read Jennifers columns for the reasons displayed in this article. Where are the conservative writters for the Gazette?
The GOP is not against your BC or whether it’s included or not in your HC coverage. It’s about the govt telling religious institutions they must cover it even though it’s been against their beliefs for (?) years. It is the liberals with the help of short sighted journalists that are framing this mandate to fit their narrative. I would like a journalist to write about the options that are left for the catholic church since this govt. mandate. It looks like they were given a year to decide. I wonder if Jennifer could do it in half that time?
For the record, I am pro choice and not a church goer. I do however believe in the rights of a church to adhere to their beliefs over the govt. mandating it’s beliefs. I also believe that it’s up to the memebers/women of the church to change it’s doctrine to fit the century if it’s such a big deal over who pays for their BC.
One more thing, why didn’t the dems invite some nuns of differing opinions to the hearing? Maybe Pelosi and Biden could persuade them to speak up.
The US Senate dealt another body blow to the GOP today with the defeat of the “Blunt Amendment”:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/senate-defeats-blunts-conscience-exemption-amendment/