Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Democrats For Life Boots Tim Ryan For Supporting Contraception

Within the spectrum of pro-life groups, I used to think reasonably well of Democrats for Life. The big political figure associated with the group was Congressman Tim Ryan, who was much more about reducing the number of abortions by making sure everyone had contraception than about banning abortion. But now Democrats for Life appears to have booted Ryan out for exactly that reason:

“We’re working in Congress with groups that agree with preventative options while [the DFLA] is getting left behind,” Ryan said. “I can’t figure out for the life of me how to stop pregnancies without contraception. Don’t be mad at me for wanting to solve the problem.”

Ryan said he tried to convince officials with Democrats For Life of America, which he referred to today as a “fringe group,” that the use of contraception is needed as part of any plan to reduce unintended pregnancies but that failed.

“They asked me to leave; I got booted,” said Ryan, who was on the group’s national advisory board for about four years.

Via Jill at Feministe. This drops the number of anti-abortion pro-contraception groups I'm aware of to zero.

4 comments:

Kristen Day said...

For clarification, Democrats For Life does not take oppose contraception.

Preventing pregnancy is an important part of reducing the abortion rate in America. There are several ways to address prevention, but there is no clear consensus because of ethical, religious or personal reasons. There are several bills before Congress that address pregnancy prevention. While we have not endorsed a particular bill, we support finding the most effective way to reduce unplanned pregnancies. We cannot deny that abstinence is the only sure way to prevent pregnancy, but we also cannot turn our heads and pretend that our children are not engaging in risky behavior or the fact that contraception is not 100 percent effective. The Federal government has made a commitment to support prevention efforts and allocated a record $288.3 million in FY 2005 for family planning under title X. The program provides access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them. A priority is given to low-income persons.

Pregnant women who wish to carry their children to term have not received that same commitment from the Federal government. We support helping pregnant women who wish to carry their children to term but because of lack of resources believe abortion is their only option. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Congressman Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and Pro-life Democrats in Congress who share this same commitment have introduced the Pregnant Women Support Act.

Neil Sinhababu said...

So what was the problem with Tim Ryan?

As for the claim that "contraception is not 100 percent effective" -- it's adhered to a lot better than abstinence. It leaves me wondering how to interpret your claim to "not take oppose contraception".

Anonymous said...

Ms Day appears to believe that if she shills for Bob Casey's shameless handout to CPC's we will forget that DfL booted Tim Ryan for supporting effective contraception as an effective method for preventing unwanted pregnancies.

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