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June 30, 2006
The White House

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-New York) has finally gotten an answer to a long-awaited question: What’s the Bush administration’s stance on contraception?

According to transcripts of a May 26, 2005 White House press briefing, talk show host and correspondent Les Kinsolving asked then-administration spokesperson Scott McClellan about the president’s view on contraception after media reports that visitors to the White House wore “I was an embryo” buttons.

McClellan responded that “I think the president's views are very clear when it comes to building a culture of life.  …”

When Kinsolving asked for clarification, McClellan said, “ … if you want to ask those questions, that’s fine. I'm just not going to dignify them with a response.”

That exchange was one reason that 18 members of Congress sent the president a July 2005 letter asking about his position on birth control.

On May 25 of this year, an answer arrived from Assistant Secretary for Health John O. Agwunobi: “The Administration supports the availability of safe and effective products and services to assist responsible adults in making decisions about preventing or delaying conception.”

The letter also confirmed the administration’s commitment to abstinence “as the only 100 percent effective means of preventing pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).”

Rep. Maloney said:  “I’ll still never understand why it took a year to respond to this easy question, but I hope the president will now work to stop the attack on access to birth control.”

Throughout his presidency, President Bush has stated his opposition to abortion.  However, his administration has yet to put any clear support behind proven efforts to prevent unwanted pregnancy, including comprehensive sex education for young people, and access to birth control for everyone.  Within a few months of entering office in 2000, President Bush attempted to prevent the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan from covering contraception under its health insurance plans (an effort blocked by Congress). 

Under the Bush administration, funding for Title X — the federal program that provides family planning support for low-income women — has remained stagnant, while funding for abstinence-only programs has grown exponentially.  

Rep. Maloney has been an outspoken voice on behalf of reproductive rights on Capitol Hill, both for domestic programs as well as international.  Throughout the Bush administration she has lead efforts in the House of Representatives to overturn the Global Gag Rule.

“The 98 percent of sexually active American women who have used contraception will be pleased to know that the president apparently supports birth control,” said Maloney. “Now that he has answered, he should be held to his word.”

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258