Power

Iowa Rep. Steve King’s Animosity to Hormonal Birth Control Remains Strong

The Iowa anti-choice politician still refuses to accept contraception as part of American culture.

Iowa Congressman Steve King has been vocal about his opposition to “robo-skype” abortion and his support of fellow Congressman Todd Akin’s belief that after being raped, women’s bodies can “shut that whole thing down” to avoid pregnancy. Less hard to pin him down on? Whether he believes birth control should be legal or not.

Via Think Progress:

Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) pointedly refused to say whether he believes contraception should be sold legally in the United States. King, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the seminal Supreme Court decision of Griswold v. Connecticut, which overturned a state ban on the sale of contraception.

As to whether he was “personally against” the sale of contraception, King said “I’ve not taken a position on the sale of contraceptives at all.”

He may not have taken a stand on “the sale of contraceptives at all,” but he has taken one on the birth control mandate, and that he continues to misrepresent emergency contraception as an abortifacient rather than a contraceptive. His opposition to emergency contraception on that ground shouldn’t make his position on “the sale of contraceptives” too difficult to ascertain, either.

King is currently under fire for comparing undocumented immigrants to hunting dogs. The congressman defended his remarks—actually made months earlier at a town hall meeting—where he said “when picking a good bird dog, it is important to avoid choosing ‘the one that’s sleeping in the corner,'” writes Huffington Post. King has responded to the controversy by saying that it was a compliment and that those who are upset are “professional hyper-ventilators.”