Democracy for Vancouver

Of the many problems I have with John McCain, his absolute refusal to dirty himself with any issues regarding women and women’s health is the most maddening.

My Dad is just two years younger than McCain, and was brought up such a sheltered good Catholic boy that when a friend explained the facts of life to my poor, ignorant 12-year-old Dad, that friend got a punch in the nose for his trouble. You see, my grandmother and grandfather would never do such a thing.

But Dad grew up, married and had three daughters (and one son), and slowly but surely made his way into the 20th (and now 21st) centuries. Not only is he well educated in the workings of the female reproductive system, but this moderate Republican was instrumental in establishing the first Planned Parenthood clinic in his very conservative South Florida county, and now sits on its board.

So John McCain, you, with your two wives and several daughters, have no excuse for being as blissfully clueless as a Victorian husband banished from the marital quarters during his wife’s “confinement.” And as a Senator with aspirations to be president of a country that is just slightly more than 50% female, you have no right or excuse to be this ignorant:

Mr. Bush’s defunding of the U.N. Population Fund — backed by Senator McCain — has persisted since 2002. What is new is the extension of that policy to a leading private family-planning organization like Marie Stopes International.

“The irony and hypocrisy of it is that this is a bone to the self-described ‘pro-life’ movement, but it will result in deaths to women who just want to space their births,” said Dana Hovig, the chief executive of Marie Stopes International. The organization estimates that the result will be at least 157,000 additional unwanted pregnancies per year, leading to 62,000 additional abortions and 660 women dying in childbirth.
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“This nearsighted maneuver will have direct and dire consequences,” a group of prominent public health experts in America declared in an open letter, adding that the action “will translate almost immediately into increased maternal death and disability.”

…Mr. McCain seems to have supported Mr. Bush, mostly out of instinct, and when a reporter asked him this spring whether American aid should finance contraceptives to fight AIDS in Africa, he initially said, “I haven’t thought about it,” and later added, “You’ve stumped me.”
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In some parts of Africa, a woman now has a 1-in-10 risk of dying in childbirth. The idea that U.S. policy may increase that toll is infuriating.

Earlier this year, McCain gave a similarly clueless (and even combative) response when asked by a reporter whether insurance companies that cover Viagra should also be required to cover birth control:

Republican John McCain prides himself on being a straight talker. But he resisted being dragged into a discussion Wednesday about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control products.

“I certainly do not want to discuss that issue,” the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the “Straight Talk Express.”
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When asked Wednesday if he had voted in the Senate against a proposal to require insurance companies to cover contraceptive products, McCain replied, “I don’t know enough about it to give you an informed answer because I don’t recall the vote… I don’t usually duck an issue, but I’ll try to get back to you.”

A man with two post-pubescent daughters in 2008 who can be stumped by questions like these does not have the intellectual wherewithal - or even the basic knowledge - to be president, especially at a time when teen pregnancy, STDs and maternal and infant mortality are on the rise in the U.S.

As many of you know, I lost my best friend Karen when she died in childbirth in February 2004; this issue is very close to my heart. If you would like to mitigate some of what John McCain’s cruel ignorance has wrought, you can donate birthing kits for midwives in remote areas of developing countries, or give to NARAL, or even just give blood (1-800-GIVELIFE for blood drives in your area). Karen was given 23 units of blood before her brain died from lack of oxygen; in addition to her doctors, 23 strangers gave a little of their time to try to save her life. I’m giving again on Saturday, working my way toward my 5th gallon, and Karen is on my mind each and every time.