U.S. Capitol This Week Dec 2 - 8

The White House

Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a US Department of Education event on students’ access to contraception. The talk went beyond contraception and developed into a general discussion on sexual and reproductive health and rights and the role of educators in this context. Not too long ago, Harris went on a nationwide “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour where she thanked educators for protecting students’ access to “reproductive health care.” 

Oftentimes, these efforts, applauded by progressive administrations, lack a holistic view of what reproductive health really entails. For example, they push abortion and contraception as the only solutions to unplanned pregnancies. Discussions on abstinence, loyalty to one’s partner, and the implications of the “hookup” culture for unplanned pregnancies are almost always ignored by sexual and reproductive health agendas. Yet, such an approach won’t generate as much profit for Planned Parenthood and pharmaceutical companies.

An interesting finding on contraception is that, despite progressive narratives, not everyone wants to use it. Apparently, a significant proportion of women thought to “lack access” to contraception, have no intention to use contraception anyway due to their philosophical or religious views. Around 11-27% of women surveyed by the Guttmacher institute cited opposition to contraception.

Foreign Affairs

In response to Uganda’s anti-LGBT laws, the United States placed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and the World Bank stopped making new loans to the country. The Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister said that “There’s a coup at the State Department in the U.S…It is being taken over by people who are pushing the LGBT agenda in Africa.” While many pro-life and pro-family organizations, including Family Watch International, shared their opposition to the laws due to their extreme nature, the question at hand is whether it is a good foreign policy move for the US government to impose sanctions on foreign nations based on their human rights records.