Object Lessons | Feminist movement gaining strides in American contraception battles

Carolyn Bradley Columnist

It is a truth universally acknowledged that feminists dwell in a victim-complaint-style ideology, and that therefore they can never celebrate their victories. Well, not quite. But perhaps there is some truth to the idea that feminists tend to be wary of looking on the bright side of things. (It’s true of most smart people.) Which is why I am so surprised to find myself smiling this week at how successful feminism has proven lately, at least in its much merited attack on abstinence-only education. In various regions throughout the country, the preferred lawmakers and laws of the abstinence-only crowd are being struck down at a rate that would have seemed virtually unthinkable a year ago. Of course, feminists will never get the credit, but I, for one, am proud.

On the national front, two prominent Bush appointees, Erick Keroack and Wade Horn, both star cheerleaders for the abstinence-only ideology, have resigned. On March 29, Keroack stepped down as chief of America’s family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) upon revealing that state Medicaid officials were charging his private medical practice in Massachusetts with fraud. Keroack’s resignation comes as a huge victory for the National Organization for Women, which has been calling for his ouster since his appointment in November. And for good reason. Keroack had used that same private medical practice—called “A Woman’s Concern,” no less—to advocate against contraception, on the grounds of it being “demeaning” to women.

Horn abruptly resigned only days after Keroack, on April 1, from his position as Assistant Secretary of Family Support at HHS. Under Horn (who, by the way, is the former president of the National Fatherhood Initiative, if that tells you anything), federal spending for abstinence-only education has expanded to over $200 million a year. This comes from the same man who blames contraception for STDs and unplanned pregnancies—and who, in fact, created an uproar last October for his bizarre advocacy of federal abstinence-only programs targeted toward adults up to age 29.

On top of these advances, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the nation’s top medical authority, has released a report condemning the abstinence-until-marriage earmarks in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Arguing that PEPFAR’s budget allocations hinder the implementation of its programs, the IOM concluded that the government has made “spending money in a particular way an end in itself rather than a means to an end—in this instance, the vitally important end of saving lives.” What’s more, Gardasil—the HPV vaccine that has proven anathema to the virginity police—is finding increasing support throughout the country, with at least 20 states considering legislation to make mandatory inoculation of young girls against the most common sexually transmitted infection, which can cause cervical cancer.

Truth is, feminists are making serious headway in challenging the blind ideology of abstinence—perhaps more so than at any other time during the Bush presidency. So, for the record, this is a perfectly legitimate reason to kick back and finally celebrate our victories.

And yet, every victory breeds an opportunity. After all, what better time than now for feminists to apply pressure on Congress to pass into law real, substantive, sex-education programs? In particular, the Prevention First Act, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and other family-planning advocates in Congress, promises a compassionate bundle of services and education measures that have actual potential (really, really!) to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy in America. Its proposals include expanding Medicaid family-planning services to cover more low-income women, ensuring emergency contraception for rape victims, and requiring federally-funded sex education programs to provide medically accurate information about contraception. What a thought! To learn more about the Prevention First Act, head over to the NARAL: Pro-Choice America Web site, www.naral.org/.

Meanwhile, here’s kicking it to the patriarchy!