Congressional Democrats on Thursday blasted Republicans for a perceived indifference to women's health needs in the wake of a February 16th GOP-led committee hearing on contraception that had no female witnesses.
The House Democratic Steering & Policy Committee held its own hearing with testimony from a Georgetown University law student who argued that contraception was central to the health of many women.
Thursday's hearing was the latest in an ongoing dispute over the Obama administration's recent mandate that insurers must cover costs for contraceptive care to employees at religiously affiliated universities and hospital.
The administration originally mandated that such organizations must offer contraception coverage to their employees but later amended the rule.
Still, some religious groups have vigorously protested the requirement - particularly in the Catholic community -- and lawsuits have been filed to challenge it.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., held a February 16th hearing on the mandate with five witnesses - all men, sparking a backlash from women's rights groups and prompting Democrats to hold their own hearing on Thursday.
Georgetown student Sandra Fluke told the committee several personal stories of women who were unable to obtain birth control and as a result have suffered financial hardship, missed opportunities to diagnose ovarian cancer and had unwanted pregnancies.
Fluke compared denying women a legal health care need to denying a basic human right.
"This just really highlights for me the fact that some of the issues that have been brought up are blurring what's really at stake here," Fluke said. "For our opponents, this is about limiting women's access to health care, and that's why this just cannot occur."
Republicans have accused the Obama administration of using the contraception mandate to trample on religious freedom and of overreaching the federal government's powers. Several prominent Republicans, including former GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, have also given interviews to deny that the party has a bias against women.
Several Democrats on the committee took particularly sharp shots at Issa, with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., accusing Issa of unfairly blocking Fluke from testifying at the February 16th hearing.
"I would venture to say that any woman is more qualified to talk about her needs than any man," Maloney said. "A woman should have been at that table, and all tables in America."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who chairs the Democratic committee, said she planned to introduce Fluke's testimony into the congressional record. She also took a clear shot at Issa.
"The question of who is qualified to be a witness raises the question of who is qualified to hold a hearing," Pelosi said.
Issa's office declined a request for comment on Thursday. Last week, he maintained that Fluke was unqualified as a witness because she planned to testify about contraception, not the issue of religious freedom.
The Obama administration has pledged not to enforce the contraception mandate until next January, to allow for time for a compromise.
Earlier this month, Obama announced a potential compromise, whereby religious organizations would not have to offer contraception coverage to their employees, but insurers would be required to completely cover contraception costs for such employees. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has denounced the suggestion.
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