Why Republicans can't shut up about contraception

By staking an extreme position on the biology of abortion, the GOP has made itself ridiculous

The issue is woven into the fabric.
(Image credit: (Illustration by Lauren Hansen | Images courtesy iStock))

Sometimes I think the GOP must be working toward the long-term goal of ensuring that not a single American woman votes for the party.

How else to explain the behavior of one Kevin Lundberg, the Republican chair of the Senate Health Committee in the Colorado legislature? Over the past six years, a program has provided more than 30,000 women in the state with free intrauterine devices (IUDs), which has helped contribute to a 40 percent drop in the teen birth rate and a 34 percent decline in teen abortions. Now the program is up for renewal, and Lundberg opposes it. Why? Because, he believes, IUDs prevent pregnancies by causing abortions.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.