The GOP believes that this issue is a winning issue for them. They have a lot of election fixes in place and they have billionaires willing to spend a couple billion dollars to win. They believe that all the churches will help them by quietly campaigning for their candidates. They think that this "wedge issue" is the issue of a lifetime for them because younger women are not engaged and believe in raising families because of all the propaganda the last 30 years.

They also believe that they will be able to sequester enough women from voting it won't matter. The "feminazi" meme has worked for them.

I do agree that the GOP thinks this will help them win. However, I think they are sorely mistaken.

Polls show the Republican field is behind President Obama by 20 points among women. Women also make up a slight majority of voters.

Alienating women is likely to be a disaster for the GOP as election results tend to track with this voting block at least in recent years. Women overwhelmingly voted for Dems in 2008 but the trend among women reversed in 2010 which allowed the GOP to take back the House.

If women are mad at the GOP come November, it will help Dems up and down the ticket.

I certainly hope they are being deluded. And I hope they step in front of an electoral truck in November. It just seems to me that the GOP is taking so many despicable positions on purpose. They would have to be deluded to push what they are pushing unless they feel that they have the fix set up.

No sane politician would be taking on some of the issues they are even doubling down on.

In fact, lots of teens use it for their periods, to regulate them better. I use it and have been married ten years! It is so ridiculous and when is this all a woman's burden? What about men holding their stuff in their pants? The issue of sexual responsibility is only on woman?

The fact of the matter is that the GOP does not care. They only rule by fear, intmidation, exclusion and force. I have not seen any GOP women to speak of talk back on this matter.

They have an agenda to end contraception because they see it as yet another "wedge issue" that is a way to supreme power. Issa's hearing should send a strong message.

When you have GOP legislators in Maine proposing the weakening of abuse laws that protect women, it should send a message. Women will have NO recourse to protect themselves and their children from abuse if the GOP passes that legislation in Maine.

Does not matter how many women need these services. They are telling women in the US go back to the middle ages. GOP men are saying WE WILL DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE WHEN IT COMES TO WOMENS' RIGHTS. PERIOD.

TMN - you are absolutely right that they do not care. I also haven't seen any female GOP leaders speaking out. However, I suspect that many Independent and moderate Republican women voters may feel strongly offended by the current wedge issue circus.

Jennicut - you make a great point. There are also many women who need to be on the pill for serious medical reasons (endometriosis, ovarian cysts, etc.)

by Vickie Farris. Her husband is the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

She and her husband planned the first three, then they were convicted over a period of several years to stop using birth control, after which they had four miscarriages and seven more children, for a total of TEN living kids.

Even though she and her husband reached the conclusion that God was leading their family to stop using birth control, she states that women should follow their husbands' wishes in this area.

YES, their line of thinking is crazy from our perspective, BUT SHE'S AN UBERFUNDIE WHO BELIEVES THAT USE OF BIRTH CONTROL IS AN INDIVIDUAL MATTER OF CONSCIENCE.

Birth control: not just for sluts.

I sometimes wonder if folks in this camp have ever thought about what would happen if everyone followed their lead and had 10+ kids (like the Duggar's from "19 kids and counting&quot .

We would have severe overpopulation problems!

Ironically, I sometimes hear conservative politicians make remarks about the benefits of higher birth rates (i.e., more people to pay into Social Security to fund them during their old age). One whose name I can't remember was waging criticism of abortion based on only this argument.... that it was reducing the number of people who could be paying into the system. Terrible!