Sen. J.D. Vance acknowledged during a CNN interview that when it comes to reproductive health care, his party has a lot of work to do. The Ohio Republican argued that the solution is for the GOP to become “the truly pro-family party.”
Jake Tapper asked if, as part of this approach, Republicans would support birth control, “empowering women to be able to make those decisions before they get pregnant.” The senator’s answer struck me as interesting:
“Look, obviously, people need to be able to make those decisions. I don’t think that I know any Republican, at least not a Republican with a brand, that’s trying to take those rights away from people. But I think it goes deeper than that….”
At that point, Tapper interjected. “I mean, I could provide a list for you if you want,” the CNN anchor told the guest. “Well, okay,” the senator replied, appearing a little annoyed. “Not anybody I talk to, Jake.”
I’m certainly not in a position to know who Vance has spoken with, but the idea that Republicans have no interest in interfering with contraception access is at odds with recent history.
Just last year, the House’s then-Democratic majority approved the Right to Contraception Act, intended to codify in federal law the right to birth control nationwide. A total of 195 Republicans voted against it.
A month earlier, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly condemned the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that struck down a state law that restricted married couples’ access to birth control, calling for it to be “reconsidered.” Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, a variety of Republican senators and candidates also eagerly rejected the Griswold precedent.
Around the same time, a prominent GOP lawmaker in Ohio said she’d consider a contraception ban, and a Trump-backed GOP candidate in Michigan said the same thing. Mississippi’s Republican governor was asked in May whether his state might ban certain forms of contraception, and he didn’t say no.
Though the bill ultimately failed, Republican legislators in Louisiana also explored an abortion ban that would’ve criminalized forms of birth control. And then, of course, there’s House Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s not only endorsed Clarence Thomas’ perspective on the Griswold precedent, but who’s also falsely condemned the morning-after pill as “an abortifacient.” Rolling Stone recently published a review of the Louisiana Republican’s record on the issue, which pointed to a series of instances from Johnson’s record in which he’s stood on the opposite side of contraception access. Vance suggested to a national television audience that no serious voices in his party are prepared to roll back the clock on birth control. There’s ample evidence to the contrary.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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