Category Archives: Health Care, Women, Mitt Romney,

What Romney will take away from women

After yet another flip-flop—this one in record time—Mitt Romney definitively went on the record to say that "of course" he supports one of the most controversial, extreme pieces of legislation we've seen in generations: the amendment proposed by Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Roy Blunt to place the decision over access to contraception and preventive care squarely in the hands of a woman's employer.

To put it simply: Romney officially signed on to the GOP's latest attack against women's health.

What's at stake here?

It's not just birth control. More than 20 million American women could lose access to mammograms, pre-natal screenings, cervical cancer screenings, vaccines, domestic violence counseling, and a host of preventive services that shouldn't be up for debate in 2012.

The President's Affordable Care Act gives millions of women control over their own health care. By endorsing the extreme Blunt-Rubio amendment, Romney would take it away.

Watch and share our latest video.

Romney’s insta-flip on the Blunt-Rubio amendment

Mitt Romney: "I'm not for the bill."

Mitt Romney spokesperson: "Gov. Romney supports the Blunt bill because he believes in a conscience exemption in health care for religious institutions and people of faith."

Two things are notable here. First, this is one of the fastest flip-flops we've seen from notorious flip-flopper Mitt Romney. But more important, Romney's campaign has just gone on the record saying that their candidate supports one of the most controversial, extreme, damaging-to-women's-health pieces of legislation we've seen in generations.

The Blunt-Rubio amendment, sponsored by Republican senators Roy Blunt of Missouri and Marco Rubio of Florida, would place the decision over access to free contraception in the hands of a woman's employer. If you work for someone who objects to birth control on religious grounds—and this applies to ANY employer, not just religious organizations—then under this amendment, you should be prepared to pay for it.

Make no mistake: This is an attack on women's health. Doctors prescribe contraception for many reasons, including preventive care. Continued use of birth control reduces the risk of some cancers, serious infections, and cysts. Medical research has confirmed contraception's benefits, but its cost often prevents women from using it—particularly those between 18 and 34.

And today, Romney, after a quick flip-flop, has officially joined the GOP's latest attack against women's health.

Romney’s hypocrisy on contraception: The plot thickens

Yesterday we told you about how Romney is in the midst of attacking the President for providing women with the very same access to contraception that he did as governor of Massachusetts. In fact, the law that Massachusetts passed while Romney was governor and the federal law he now denounces are nearly identical in requiring contraception, including emergency contraception, to be covered by health insurance.

But today a new twist in the plot surfaced—and it makes Romney's hypocrisy even more breathtaking.

Think Progress is reporting that "the very same GOP frontrunner who is now petitioning the White House to extend the regulation's conscience clause and exclude more women from the benefits of birth control is himself invested in and profiting from pharmaceutical companies that produce the frequently prescribed and extremely common medication."

Romney's Goldman Sachs 2002 Exchange Place Fund was valued at more than $1 million in 2010, brought in nearly $600,000 in profit for Romney that year, and invests in Watson Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Mylan, and Pfizer—all of which manufacture birth control. Watson Pharmaceuticals in particular manufactures nine forms of emergency contraception, a particular target of Romney's.

In other words, Romney is attacking President Obama for expanding women's access to birth control, but he has no problem enriching himself off the companies that manufacture it.

Does Romney know no bounds in his willingness to do and say—and hide—whatever it takes to get elected?