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"Speaking at a lunch at the Republican National Convention&amp;#x27;s winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, former Arkansas governor and Fox News talking head Mike Huckabee&amp;amp;mdash;working with some twisted logic I don&amp;#x27;t follow&amp;amp;mdash;said that offering insurance coverage for birth control is rooted in the assumption that women need the government to help them control their sex drives. So this is how the GOP is reaching out to women? Huckabee said, specifically, &amp;quot;If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it.&amp;quot; You can watch it here: I am trying to remain calm. Quick fact check: The government is not paying for most of our birth control. As part of the Affordable Care Act, American women with insurance are no longer required to pay a copay on prescription contraception. The government is not subsidizing this; it is still ultimately coming out of our pockets when we pay insurance premiums, but it does place more of the burden on the insurance providers. Also, as many of you reading know firsthand, according to the Guttmacher Institute, more than half the women (58 percent, to be exact) on oral contraception are taking it at least partly for medical reasons, like regulating painful menstrual cycles, preventing cramps, controlling acne, and treating endometriosis. Finally, a healthy sex life is a normal, wonderful part of being a human being. Whether a woman is married, in a relationship, or just dating, don&amp;#x27;t make her feel ashamed of wanting to experience that. And frankly, if Huckabee is calling for abstinence here, it doesn&amp;#x27;t really work. While teen birth rates are (thankfully) on the decline, birth rates in states with abstinence-only education are not. I don&amp;#x27;t know about you, but I&amp;#x27;m so tired of men who will never have an unwanted pregnancy or reproductive-related health issues lecture women on these very subjects. Just last week, Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg claimed to use &amp;quot;the thoughts of God himself&amp;quot; when speaking about abortion. Hey, guys: Until you&amp;#x27;ve dealt with painful cramps, an unwanted pregnancy (or a dangerous pregnancy), a debilitating condition like endometriosis, or, for that matter, magically wake up with a vagina, please stop talking about why we use birth control. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2014/01/the-gop-reaches-out-to-women-m>