Morning Roundup: New Hampshire Likes Same Sex Marriage, Thank You Very Much

Beth Saunders

New Hampshire does not want to repeal its marriage law, Nebraska may increase family planning funding, the elimination of Title X, young moms need career support, and Republican use of abortion as political manipulation.

New Hampshire does not want to repeal its marriage law, Nebraska may increase family planning funding, the elimination of Title X, young moms need career support, and Republican use of abortion as political manipulation.

  • New Hampshire is perfectly happy to have legalized gay marriage, according to a new survey in that state. After Republicans took control of the legislature in the last election, some proposed to reverse the marriage law, which took effect at the beginning of 2010. Over half of the people surveyed, however, said they “strongly oppose” repeal.
  • Nebraska is weighing increasing its family planning program to cover more women, realizing that spending more money on contraception will help save them millions of dollars per year in Medicaid-covered birth expenses. While Nebraska Right to Life opposed a similar bill two years ago, it has not taken a position on this legislation.
  • I might include this in the roundup every day for the next week, because it’s so outrageous it can’t be repeated enough. The House Appropriations Committee has proposed eliminating Title X funding completely. Title X funding assists low income men and women in accessing contraceptives, cancer screenings, STD testing, and annual exams. Read Jodi’s piece for more.
  • A new study from Rhode Island says that regardless of whether teen pregnancy is intended or not, young mothers often aspire to careers that require a college degree, and support is needed for them to reach their goals.

  • In a piece for Huffington Post, Frank Schaeffer (son of a founder of the Religious Right) writes that if Republicans really wanted to end abortion, they would have:

  • funded a thorough and mandatory sex education initiative from the earliest grades in all schools and combined it with the distribution of free contraceptives in all high schools, public and private (religious schools included).
  • legislated generous family leave for both mothers and fathers
  • provided federally funded day care as a national priority
  • expanded adoption services, including encouraging gay parents to adopt children
  • encouraged gay couples to marry and adopt
  • provided a generous tax incentive to have children and direct financial assistance and educational opportunities for all families, including single parents
  • raised taxes to pay for these programs
  • not equated stem cell research with abortion, much less with murder, thereby making the antiabortion position patently ridiculous…

    But, his theory is that Republicans love abortion “as a means of political manipulation.” That may be true for some, but it is pretty hard to deny that distrusting women and wanting a return to patriarchy doesn’t have a part to play as well.

Feb 10

Feb 9