OP/ED: Time to Protect Contraception Rights

By Jackie Cilley

Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Does anyone recall any of the 2010 candidates running on a platform of eliminating insurance coverage for contraception? You didn’t? Well, you’re not alone. There was not one word about doing something so draconian, but that’s what they are slipping through now.

In a continuation of attacks on the women of New Hampshire, including the removal of adequate protections against domestic violence, the N.H. House passed HR 29 to require Congress to allow employers to deny healthcare coverage for contraception. In another amendment attached to a non-germane bill, the House is attempting to unravel 13 years of bipartisan support for healthcare coverage for contraception.

The Free State/Tea Partiers in our legislature are effectively telling New Hampshire women they don’t have the right to determine when to start their family or to control their own reproductive healthcare.

As utterly regressive as these actions were, a statement by Rep. Lynne Blankenbeker, R-Concord, was simply jaw-dropping. During a committee hearing, Rep. Blankenbeker said the women of our state could avoid an unwanted or untimely pregnancy “with simple over-the-counter remedies such as abstinence or condoms.” The first is likely to lead to significant levels of domestic disharmony and the latter has a high failure rate.

Our grandmothers marched in the streets and suffered untold humiliations to win us the right to have a say in governing ourselves. Ladies (and pro-equality gentlemen), it looks like it is time to take to the streets again!