John McCain: Arizona Contraception Bill Should Be Vetoed

John McCain: Arizona Contraception Bill Should Be Vetoed

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview on Sunday that he opposes a controversial bill moving through the Arizona legislature that would let employers restrict health insurance coverage of contraception to only those cases when a woman can prove a need for it because of a medical reason, such as endometriosis or an ovarian cyst.

The GOP-sponsored bill, which would put some women in the uncomfortable position of having to explain to their boss why they use birth control, already passed in the state House of Representatives and was endorsed by a Senate committee last week. McCain said, however, it has little chance of becoming law.

"I am confident that that legislation will not reach the governor's desk, and if it did it would be vetoed," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It certainly doesn't reflect, in my view, the majority view of the people of Arizona."

McCain's staunch opposition to the contraception measure might be surprising to some, considering that he recently voted for Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt's similar amendment, calling for employers to deny contraception coverage to women for religious or moral reasons. But when host David Gregory asked McCain whether there is a "war on women" among Republicans, McCain said that Republicans needed to "get off" the issue of birth control and "respect the right of women to make choices."

"I think we have to fix that," he said. "There's a perception out there because of the way that this whole contraception issue played out … We need to get off of that issue. In my view, I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and make that clear and to get back onto what the American people really care about -- jobs and the economy."

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