Why a giant IUD was set up across from the US Capitol
Why a giant IUD was set up across from the US Capitol
Also: The rise of gay pop, a felon's rights as president, and male birth control
This week, Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to advance legislation aimed at codifying the right to contraception access, calling it an election year political stunt.
The Right to Contraception Act sought to ensure the rights of individuals to access contraception and for healthcare providers to offer contraceptive services and information without restrictions. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine were the only two Republicans who voted in favor of advancing the measure.
Why did Democrats push for the bill?
The bill was an effort to protect against any future local, state, or federal efforts to limit access to birth control, providing a clear legal guarantee for reproductive health options. Democrats say the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, along with Justice Clarence Thomas' suggestion to reconsider precedents like those protecting contraception and same-sex marriage, heightened the urgency for Democrats to secure contraceptive rights.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the importance of safeguarding contraception access, stating that Republican arguments against the bill were misleading and fear-mongering. Democrats believed the bill was essential not only to protect access to contraception but also to reassure voters about their commitment to women's health. By bringing this bill to the forefront, Democrats were also aiming to highlight Republican resistance to such protections as birth control is becoming a new battleground issue in the 2024 election.
Polls suggest Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of contraception. A recent survey by Americans for Contraception found that about 80 percent of voters said that protecting access to contraception was “deeply important” to them. According to the poll, 72 percent of Republican voters said they had a favorable view of birth control.
Why are Republicans objecting?
However, Republican senators dismissed the bill as a political maneuver designed to create a false narrative about their stance on contraception. They argued that there was no genuine threat to contraceptive access, making the legislation unnecessary. Additionally, Republicans raised concerns about the bill potentially mandating healthcare providers to offer what they called "abortion drugs," such as the morning-after pill, which they claimed could infringe on religious freedoms.
Some misconceptions about contraception
The debate around the bill also brought attention to various types of contraception and prevalent misconceptions and misinformation surrounding them. Emergency contraceptives like Plan B and Ella work by preventing or delaying ovulation and do not terminate existing pregnancies. Despite scientific evidence, some conservative groups have falsely labeled these methods as “abortifacients,” contributing to the confusion.
Intrauterine devices (IUDs), another common form of contraception, work by preventing sperm from fertilizing the egg. Hormonal IUDs also thicken cervical mucus and sometimes prevent ovulation. Republicans have suggested they, too, cause abortions, which is medically inaccurate.
What happens next?
With the bill blocked, Democrats are expected to continue advocating for contraceptive rights. They may reintroduce the legislation or seek other ways to protect access through state laws and legal challenges. For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a video on social media about his state’s efforts to protect access to contraception and reproductive services.
Senate Democrats plan to make a broader push on reproductive rights, including an upcoming proposal to protect IVF. The issue gained national attention in February when an Alabama Supreme Court decision prompted providers to halt fertility treatments.
Meanwhile, Republicans are likely to promote an alternative bill proposed by Sen. Joni Ernst, which protects access to contraceptives but limits certain types of medications, such as Plan B. Republicans charge the so-called “morning after pill" induces an abortion, but the FDA says the emergency contraceptive pill does not prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb and does not cause an abortion.
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The main device used to support claims that various birth control is not abortive has been to redefine pregnancy to start at implantation rather than fertilization. By this means the human embryonic development from single cell to blastocyst is entirely cancelled for all who did not study developmental biology.
To suggest that any IUD successfully accomplishes all prefertilization and preimplantation mechanisms is either incredibly naive, or just craven profiteering. The device is in contact with, and is disruptive of endometrial integrity, in addition to whatever actions its drug payload might have. Therefore it can act to dislodge an embryo even during or after implantation.
And any birth control that adversely the transport of the embryo through the fallopian tubes to the uterus, or affects implantation, or affects endometrial integrity is operating to stop the life of the human embryo.
Instead of denying many of the drug and device mechanisms, or pretending they don't happen, why not honestly state that the early human embryo is not important in relation to the money and the lifestyle that might be interrupted if he or she is allowed to grow??
(Europeans are so much more honest about these matters than Americans. )
Non-science runs rampant, and has been causing medical and science communities and literature to retract and implode.