Zika Response Highlights U.S. Politics Surrounding Family Planning, Abortion

Huffington Post: The Undeclared War on Contraception
Robert Walker, president of the Population Institute

“…Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have been waging [a war on contraception] for several years now. They have pursued this war under many banners. It has been fought under the ‘pro-life’ banner. It has been fought under the banner of ‘fiscal responsibility.’ It has been fought under the banner of ‘religious liberty.’ It is now being fought under the banner of ‘fighting Zika.’ … Anyone truly concerned about the Zika virus — inside or outside the United States — should be seeking to provide additional contraceptive support to women who are at high risk for being infected with Zika. … It’s time to end the undeclared war on contraception” (7/8).

U.S. News & World Report: Abortion Politics in the Age of Zika
Carol Sanger, professor at Columbia University

“…The age of Zika is not the time … to play politics with women’s health or their rights. As things stand now, Congress refuses to help women avoid pregnancy, while some states are hell-bent on burdening access to abortion for women whose pregnancies are unwanted. In the coming months, more and more Zika-infected women will become pregnant. Some will decide to keep their pregnancies and care for their microcephalic infants into childhood and beyond. Others may make a different choice, law permitting. Right now the law in several states does not permit, but seems content to force unwanted motherhood on what may be a large class of women subject to a new environmental threat” (7/7).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.