Todd Tiahrt Does Not Care About the Medical Needs of Women in the Military

I've got to step away from the Roeder terrorism trial for a minute to share this E-mail I just received from Rep. Todd Tiahrt. No comment from me is necessary.

Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts regarding the provision of emergency contraception to women in the military. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you may know, Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME) introduced H.R. 4386, the Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act, on December 16, 2009. This bill would require emergency contraception to be made available upon request at all military health care treatment facilities. It is currently awaiting consideration in the House Armed Services Committee.

Due to the potential health risks, and controversial nature of emergency contraception, I cannot support this legislation. There are many physicians and pharmacists across the country with moral and professional reservations about the use of emergency contraception, and this bill does nothing to recognize those reservations. Although emergency contraception contains the same hormones that compose standard oral contraception, emergency contraception contains a much higher dosage than oral contraception. Specifically, one dose of EC is the equivalent of taking twenty single-dosage pills, followed by twenty more single-dosage pills 12 hours later of prescription only birth control pills. Reports have shown that the drug's side effects include nausea, infertility, ectopic pregnancy (which can be life threatening), and blood clot formation.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If you have any additional questions on this matter, please do not hesitate to call on me or Richard Henkle of my Washington, D.C. staff. It is an honor to serve the people of Kansas in the United States Congress.

Best regards,

Todd Tiahrt
Member of Congress

Todd Tiahrt Does Not Care About the Medical Needs of Women in the Military