Like a comet streaking across the heavens, Governor Nikki Haley's comment on The View about women not caring about contraception is drawing a lot of attention. And rightly so.
Poll after poll suggests that women do care about contraception. Case in point: Mitt Romney's plan to shut down the family planning clinics run by Planned Parenthood has cost him dearly. His support among women has dropped precipitously in the past few months as voters learn more about his views on family planning.
When Haley and other Republican leaders opine about the lack of voter interest in contraception, it's more wishful thinking than political insight. They recognize that the positions taken by the GOP presidential aspirants on family planning may help them in the primaries, but it will undoubtedly hurt them in the general election. As a result, they want to change the subject in the worst way.
Unfortunately for them, comments like those made by Governor Haley do nothing to shift voter attention to the issues they want to talk about, like deficits and the economy. To the contrary, they reinforce the idea that Republicans are tone-deaf on women's issues.
Haley's comment, in particular, appears to suggest that Republican leaders, even women like her, don't care about a women's access to contraception. Before making her claim, maybe she should have checked in with another Republican leader, Senator Olympia Snowe, who earlier this week said that the political attacks on contraception were "retro."
What's even more "retro," however, is the unspoken half of Haley's comment. By suggesting that women don't really care about contraception, she's suggesting that men could care even less. So much less that it's not even worth discussing.
Polls, of course, suggest to the contrary. While men may feel less strongly than women do, they also care about contraception. Most men recognize that they also benefit when women are able to determine the number and timing of their pregnancies. Some men may want to keep women "barefoot and pregnant," but it's a pretty small minority. This is, after all, the 21st century.
As governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley ought to appreciate the critical need for family planning services. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. According to the Guttmacher Institute, South Carolina's rate of unintended pregnancy is significantly higher than the national average. In 2006, 52,000 South Carolina residents had an unintended pregnancy, a rate of 58 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. Guttmacher report that births resulting from these unintended pregnancies cost the state and federal governments $254 million in 2006.
And South Carolina's teenage pregnancy rate, while it's been declining in recent years, is still about 25 percent higher than the national average according to the Centers for Disease Control.
A poll released earlier this year indicated that 95 percent of South Carolinians believe that teenage pregnancy is an important issue, with 85 percent supporting school-based sexuality education. Maybe, Governor Haley should go on a listening tour in South Carolina before declaring that women don't care about contraception.
Many regard Governor Haley as a rising political star in the political firmament. She's frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential selection. Given Romney's "gender gap," adding a woman to the ticket might be a smart move, but, maybe he should find a woman who understands how women -- and men -- genuinely feel about contraception.
Governor Haley's comment, like the famed Halley's comet, will soon fade from public view, but the issue of contraception will not fade anytime soon. The war on contraception is real. State cutbacks, like those in Texas, are forcing family-planning clinics to close their doors, and if GOP leaders succeed in their efforts to eliminate Title X, the federal program that provides low-income women with improved access to family planning, more shutdowns will inevitably occur.
That's why it's so critically important that women -- and men -- pledge to speak out in support of reproductive health and rights. Don't let the Governor Haleys of the world speak for you.