Ted Cruz is the GOP field’s most prolific contraceptives aficionado — or so he tried to convince us earlier this week. In reality, Cruz has a long history of spouting anti-choice rhetoric and pledging to restrict women’s access to contraceptives.
“Last I checked we don’t have a rubber shortage in America…When I was in college we had a machine in the bathroom, you put .50 cents in and voila,” Cruz shared with a poor, unsuspecting Iowa audience Monday. Unsympathetic to the innocent audience members’ — we assume — disgust, Cruz soldiered on: “I have never met anybody, any conservative, who wants to ban contraceptives. As I noted, Heidi and I, we have two little girls. I’m very glad we don’t have 17.”
But the truth is, despite Cruz’s over-sharing anecdotes, the senator from Texas’ record and rhetoric on contraceptives is one of far-right extremism:
- Cruz supports a Personhood amendment that could ban abortions, even in cases of rape or incest, and potentially go so far as to ban common forms of birth control.
- Cruz adamantly opposed the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, claiming it constituted the government “using brute force to force people to pay for abortion-inducing drugs of others.”
- Cruz similarly celebrated the Hobby Lobby decision because he said it prevented the government from forcing employers to provide their workers with contraceptive coverage. In other words: because it would have ensured that employees had access to contraceptives.
That’s Ted Cruz: He’s “pro-contraceptives” — he just doesn’t want anyone to be able to access them.
Background:
Birth Control Mandates
Cruz Opposed The Affordable Care Act’s Contraceptive Mandate
Cruz Called the Birth Control Mandate A “Faith Fine”
Cruz Called On Obama To “Drop His Faith Fines” By Ending The ObamaCare Birth Control Mandate. According to The Hill, “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called on President Obama to ‘drop his faith fines’ by ending the ObamaCare birth control mandate. ‘What has become of the Democratic Party?’ Cruz said on the Senate floor Wednesday. ‘When did they become so extreme that they would go after nuns?’ Cruz’s comments came ahead of a Senate vote on Democratic legislation that would require for-profit companies to offer birth control coverage in staff health plans.” [The Hill, 7/16/14]
Cruz Claimed The Mandate Required Employers To Pay For “Abortion-Inducing Drugs”
Cruz: “What We Are Talking About Is The Federal Government Using Brute Force To Force People To Pay For Abortion-Inducing Drugs Of Others Against Their Religious Faith.” According to The Blaze, “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued before the vote that no one is in favor of blocking women’s access to contraception, but the issue is how to balance that right with religious freedom. ‘Nobody, nobody, nobody is talking about restricting access to contraceptives,’ Cruz said. ‘What we are talking about is the federal government using brute force to force people to pay for abortion-inducing drugs of others against their religious faith.’” [The Blaze, 7/16/14]
Cruz Called The Mandate A ‘War on The Catholic Church”
Cruz: “Senate Democrats Should Not Wage War On The Catholic Church.” According to The Hill, “Democrats moved the legislation as a response to last month’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting the healthcare law’s mandate that employers include coverage for birth control in their employee health plans. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Mark Udall’s (D-Colo.) bill keeps the ObamaCare exemption for churches and religious nonprofits. But Cruz insisted that the legislation would require nuns to pay for health insurance that covers contraceptives or force them to pay a fine. ‘The bill being offered on the floor would shut these nuns down … fine them millions of dollars unless these Catholic nuns are willing to pay for abortion inducing drugs for others,’ Cruz said. ‘Senate Democrats should not wage war on the Catholic Church.’” [The Hill,7/16/14]
Cruz Supported The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision
Cruz Spoke Outside The Supreme Court Saying That Hobby Lobby Should Not Be Force To Provide Birth Control Coverage In Their Employee’s Health Plan. According to Breitbart, “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke outside the Supreme Court in the middle of a snow storm to support Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based craft store, arguing before the Court that they should not be forced to provide birth control coverage in their employee’s health plan, as dictated by a provisions in the Affordable Care Act.” [Breitbart, 3/25/14]
- Cruz Tweeted “Stand With Hobby Lobby For Religious Liberty!”Ted Cruz tweeted, “Stand with #HobbyLobby for religious liberty! #SCOTUS” [Ted Cruz Official Twitter Account,3/25/14]
Cruz Called The Hobby Lobby Decision An Affirmation That Americans “Have A Right To Live And Work In Accordance To Their Conscience.” According to the New York Times, “Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the leading voices of the Republican Party’s right flank and a possible 2016 presidential candidate, called the decision an affirmation that Americans ‘have a right to live and work in accordance to their conscience.’” [New York Times, 6/30/14]
Cruz Praised The Supreme Court’s Decision In Burwell V. Hobby Lobby As A “Landmark Victory For Religious Liberty.” According to a Ted Cruz press release, “U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today released the following statement commending the Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. ‘Today the Supreme Court handed our nation a landmark victory for religious liberty. The decision affirms that Americans, contrary to what the Obama Administration attempted to impose, have a right to live and work in accordance to their conscience and can’t be forced to surrender their religious freedom once they open a business.” [Ted Cruz Official Press Release, 6/30/14]
Cruz Voted Twice To Eliminate The ACA Mandated Coverage
2013: Cruz Voted To Support Allowing Employers To Claim Exemptions To ACA’s Provisions On Health Care And Contraception Coverage On The Basis Of Religious And Moral Objections. In March 2013, Cruz voted for an amendment that, according to the National Law Review, “would allow employers to opt out of contraception coverage on moral grounds.” According to the Congressional Record, the purpose of the amendment was to “establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect women’s access to health care, including primary and preventive care, in a manner consistent with protecting rights of conscience.” The vote was on an amendment to the Senate version of the fiscal year 2014 budget resolution. The Senate rejected the amendment by a vote of 44 to 55. [Senate Vote 55, 3/22/13; Congressional Record, 3/22/13; National Law Review, 3/25/13]
2013: Cruz Voted To Oppose Protecting ACA’s Health Care And Contraception Coverage Provisions For Women. In March 2013, Cruz voted against an amendment that, according to The Hill’s Floor Action Blog, would “protect women’s healthcare coverage and employer-provided contraceptive coverage authorized under the Affordable Care Act.” According to the Congressional Record, the purpose of the amendment was to “establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect women’s access to health care, including primary and preventative health care, family planning and birth control, and employer-provided contraceptive coverage, such as was provided under the Affordable Care Act.” The vote was on an amendment to the Senate version of the fiscal year 2014 budget resolution. The Senate adopted the amendment by a vote of 56 to 43. The underlying budget resolution later passed the Senate, but Congress had taken no further action on it as of September, 2013. [Senate Vote 54, 3/22/13; The Hill’s Floor Action Blog, 3/22/13; Congressional Record, 3/21/13; Congressional Actions, S.Con.Res. 8]
Personhood
Cruz Supported Personhood Amendments
August 2015: Cruz Signed Georgia Right To Life PAC’s Personhood Affirmation. According to Georgia Right to Life PAC, “Today, Texas US Senator Ted Cruz received a ringing endorsement from Georgia’s largest pro-life organization. ‘Senator Cruz has an unblemished record of standing up for innocent life,’ said Ricardo Davis, Director of Georgia Right to Life’s Political Action Committee (GRTL PAC). ‘Recent revelations about the horrors of the abortion cartel cry out for a principled fighter like Senator Cruz.’ Senator Cruz received the endorsement after reviewing his activities supporting personhood and receiving his signed GRTL PAC Personhood Affirmation, which asks that candidates support a personhood amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such an amendment would guarantee a constitutional right to life for every innocent human being, from earliest biological beginning until natural death.” [Press release- Georgia Right to Life PAC, 8/8/15]
- Cruz Pledged To Support Personhood Legislation.According to Georgia Right to Life PAC, “Today, Texas US Senator Ted Cruz received a ringing endorsement from Georgia’s largest pro-life organization. ‘Senator Cruz has an unblemished record of standing up for innocent life,’ said Ricardo Davis, Director of Georgia Right to Life’s Political Action Committee (GRTL PAC). ‘Recent revelations about the horrors of the abortion cartel cry out for a principled fighter like Senator Cruz.’ Senator Cruz received the endorsement after reviewing his activities supporting personhood and receiving his signed GRTL PAC Personhood Affirmation, which asks that candidates support a personhood amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such an amendment would guarantee a constitutional right to life for every innocent human being, from earliest biological beginning until natural death.” [Press release- Georgia Right to Life PAC, 8/8/15]
2012: Cruz Pledged To Co-Sponsor The Life At Conception Act. According to a press release from the National Pro-Life Alliance, “But shortly before the primary, one of his opponents, Ted Cruz began a surge, denying Dewhurst the easy victory he had been planning on, turning the race into a runoff. In making that surge, Mr. Cruz took a bold stance on several issues, but most importantly to National Pro-Life Alliance members he pledged if elected to cosponsor the Life at Conception Act.” [National Pro-Life Alliance, 9/4/12]
Published: Dec 2, 2015