Yeah, him and Tea Party Rep. Cory Gardner (R. CO):
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R), the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, argued that over the counter contraception should be made available without a prescription.
Tillis made the argument during a debate against Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) on Wednesday night.
"First, I believe contraception should be available and probably more broadly than it is today," Tillis said. "I actually agree with the American Medical Association that we should make contraception more widely available. I think over the counter oral contraception should be available without a prescription. If you do those kinds of things you will actually increase the access and reduce the barriers for having more options for women for contraception." - TPM, 9/3/14
Yeah, nice try there Thom. Luckily Hagan reminded voters during the debate about this:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Tillis was instrumental in helping to move a controversial anti-abortion bill through the North Carolina legislature last year. The proposal was a motorcycle safety bill that had strict anti-abortion provisions tacked on to it. The legislation added new licensing standards to abortion providers and also required that a doctor be present when an abortion is conducted. Opponents of the proposal argued they were meant to close abortion clinics.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund panned Tillis' involvement saying he helped move through the state legislature "some of the most dangerous and extreme abortion restrictions in the country and rushed through with every trick in the book." - TPM, 3/26/14
And this:
http://www.newsobserver.com/...
The candidates in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, were divided on Monday in their reactions to the Supreme Court ruling on birth control. Tillis called it a victory, and Hagan said employers should not be allowed to interfere with their employees’ access to contraceptives.
The c ourt ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, saying that some private corporations could claim religious rights and be exempt from the health care law’s requirement that employer-sponsored health insurance policies cover birth control.
In another decision on Monday, the court ruled that non-member employees do not have to pay union dues.
“Today the Supreme Court made a strong stand in two cases for important First Amendment freedoms – the right to not be forced to pay union dues and the right to religious freedom,” Tillis said. “Although today was a loss for Kay Hagan, Barack Obama, and the Washington bureaucrats who want to run our lives, the American people are the clear winners.”
Hagan said in a statement: “I am extremely disappointed in today’s Supreme Court decision. It is shameful that a woman’s access to contraception is even up for debate in the year 2014. The choice about whether to use birth control should be between a woman and her doctor, not her boss, and no employer should be allowed to interfere with a woman’s access to contraception.
“The contrast on women’s health in North Carolina could not be clearer today as the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision allows some employers to interfere in women’s access to health care,” Hagan’s campaign said in a news release. - News Observer, 6/30/14
Here's what Hagan had to say during the debate:
"I think once again Speaker Tillis doesn't understand the needs of women," Hagan said. "The fact that he supports the Hobby Lobby decision that does allow an employer to deny access to birth control for their employees. I would certainly support over the counter contraception but I want it to be part of the prescription drug plan if these individuals are working for a for-profit company. That's what Speaker Tillis would deny."
"Once again women, we're stuck holding the bill. We would have to pay out of the pocket which all the other situations would not," Hagan continued. "I think Speaker Tillis has the wrong priorities." - TPM, 9/3/14
Well said. I'm also happy Hagan is hitting Tillis on this:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
North Carolina, where Senator Kay Hagan, a Democrat, is seeking re-election, has also shrunk early voting to 10 days from 17. To the chagrin of students, local officials eliminated early voting sites on the campuses of North Carolina State and Appalachian State. A photo identification requirement for voting does not take effect until 2016.
“You could be looking at a drop of 5 percent to 10 percent in the early vote,” said Morgan Jackson, a Raleigh-based Democratic strategist. “It could make a big difference.”
In 2008, early voting, especially by African-Americans, helped Mr. Obama become the first Democrat in three decades to carry North Carolina in a presidential vote. He lost among those who cast ballots on Election Day.
The Senate race in North Carolina joins the issue in an unusually personal way. The Republican candidate — the state House speaker, Thom Tillis — oversaw passage of the new voting law. Ms. Hagan lobbied the Justice Department to fight it in court.
“It’s a shame that Thom Tillis has made it much harder for people to exercise their constitutional rights that people fought and died for,” Ms. Hagan said in an interview. She vowed to fight his “voter suppression” with her own turnout campaign. - New York Times, 9/3/14
We can beat Tillis, we just have to make sure our base gets out to the polls. Click here to donate and get involved with Hagan's campaign:
http://www.kayhagan.com/...