Source: HuffPost
At a recent meet-and-greet in Rockingham County, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson told an attendee that he believes birth control is “being forced on very young ladies” and implied that providing girls with birth control will make them want to have sex.
Robinson’s statements were captured on an audio recording by an undercover operative from the Democratic research group American Bridge 21st Century at the Aug. 26 event, according to HuffPost, which acquired a copy of the recording.
The operative told Robinson she was worried about young women being coerced into taking birth control and asked if there was anything he could do about it.
“The only thing I don’t like about birth control is when it’s being forced on very young ladies,” Robinson told the woman.
Republicans have been making it more and more difficult for women to even get birth control, so it’s unclear who Robinson thinks is forcing it on them. According to a Washington Post analysis, since 2022, Republicans in at least 17 states have blocked Democrat-led efforts to pass laws that would ensure women’s access to birth control.
Robinson’s answer, specifically the part about “very young ladies,” can be traced to right-wing rhetoric used against the concept of teaching sex education to students. Conservatives often try to argue that kids are being sexualized by “liberal policies” such as “teaching children how their bodies work” and “how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.”
The woman who was speaking to Robinson hinted at the idea that giving young women birth control could cause them to be “a little bit more inclined to be promiscuous,” which he agreed with.
“I think so,” he said, adding that “working those [opinions] into legislation is tricky.”
Suggesting that birth control leads to women wanting to have more sex ignores the fact that many women, of all ages, use birth control for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with preventing pregnancies or having sex. Birth control medication is also used to treat menstrual cramping, heavy periods, acne, bone thinning, cysts in breasts or ovaries, iron deficiencies and ovarian cancer.
Even though Robinson told the operative that “the only thing” he doesn’t like about birth control is that it’s “being forced on very young ladies,” he has a history of anti-birth control sentiment, calling birth control trailblazer Margaret Sanger and her supporters “witches” and “Satanists,” CNN reported.
“I’m convinced that Margaret Sanger and all of her contemporaries that followed her, they were witches, all of ’em,” Robinson said on a podcast. “Who else would come up with the solution, that the only solution to keep people from having unwanted pregnancies is to kill the unborn? It’s an idea straight from the devil.”
(For the record, Sanger was strongly opposed to abortion.)
Regarding abortion, Robinson told the woman at the meet-and-greet that he thinks abortion medication is “dangerous,” which is false. The FDA-approved “abortion pill” has been safely used since it was approved in September 2000.
It’s no surprise that Robinson believes, or at least claims, that medication abortions are “dangerous” considering his desire to ban all abortions at conception, or as he said a few weeks ago, at “zero weeks.”
Robinson’s history of homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, antisemitic, Islamophobic and racist social media posts and speeches have dogged him for his entire gubernatorial campaign. His position on abortion seems to be doing the most harm, though.
An ad by Attorney General Josh Stein, Robinson’s Democratic gubernatorial opponent, has likely contributed to his plummeting poll numbers, according to analysis by polling operations. The ad featured a video of Robinson saying “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It’s about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
Polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight show that the ad had “a near-immediate impact on Robinson’s campaign,” according to Axios. Stein and Robinson were tied in the polls until July. Stein’s numbers have risen and Robinson’s have fallen since the “skirt” ad was released. Some recent polls show Stein up as much as 14 points on Robinson. Looking at the seven polls released in September, Stein is leading Robinson by an average of 11 points.
