The Wonk Room

The McCain-Palin Contraception Gap

While running for governor in 2006, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) portrayed herself as a pro-life feminist who opposed abortion but supported contraception. From Anchorage Daily News:

Palin said last month that no woman should have to choose between her career, education and her child. She is pro-contraception and said she’s a member of a pro-woman but anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life.

“I believe in the strength and the power of women, and the potential of every human life,” she said.

But Palin’s support for contraception clashes with McCain’s ignorant record of voting against expanding access to affordable birth control.

As the Wonk Room previously pointed out, in 2007, McCain admitted to reporters that he was “not informed” about “whether I support government funding for them [contraceptives] or not,” and expressed doubts about the effectiveness of condoms.

McCain also voted against requiring insurance companies to cover prescription contraception in both 2003 and 2005, consistantly opposed funding health care services for women, and even supported abstinence-only programs that censored “information about birth control.”

Despite their differences on contraception, however, McCain and Palin would both deny women around the world the right of choice. During her campaign for governor, Palin made it clear that “she is opposed to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.”

Thus, even with Palin, McCain is still not what women want.

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