Lance and Stender spar over birth control

By Matt Friedman | October 8th, 2008 - 3:01pm

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WESTFIELD -- Assemblywoman Linda Stender today charged that her congressional opponent, State Sen. Leonard Lance, is less pro-choice than he lets on.

Stender held a pres conference in front of a pharmacy, telling about 10 supporters that Lance voted against a bill she authored that barred pharmacists from refusing to fill birth control prescriptions based on their religious or personal beliefs.

“My opponent was one of only six State Senators that voted against this law. You can’t be pro-choice and vote for a bill that will allow a pharmacy to not fill a birth control prescription,” she said. “That’s the essence of what this is about.”

Lance, for his part, responded that Stender was taking his nuanced position out of context.

Stender and Lance are locked in one of the most competitive races in the state, and through the entirety of the campaign has focused on tying Lance to the widely unpopular policies of the Bush Administration. Today’s press conference was another attempt to strip Lance of the moderate and independent label his campaign proudly clings to.

Stender said that Lance ought not to continue calling himself pro-choice, given his vote on her bill.

“He’s part of an administration that believes women shouldn’t have full participation in society,” she said.

The press conference became testy at times, with Lance volunteer Julie Diddell trying to get Stender on the record about her “double dipping and pension padding,” while Stender tried to keep her back to Diddell. Staffers sought to shoo her away and at one point threatened to call the police, since the pharmacy was private property.

In a phone interview, Lance acknowledged that he voted against the bill, but that Stender ignored his support of an amendment that was not part of the original bill that would require any pharmacy that does not stock a drug to refer the customer to one that is “reasonably accessible” to the customer and does stock the drug.

Lance said his opposition was not based on a belief that a pharmacist should be able to deny customers birth control, but that a small, mom and pop pharmacy should have the option not to carry a drug like RU-486, popularly known as the “abortion pill.” And that if they choose not to, they’re still required to tell a subscription holding customer where she can get it.

“My position is that if a small mom and pop pharmacy does not want to carry the abortion pill, they should not have to,” he said.

Lance said that he’s voted for Planned Parenthood funding in the state budget, and that Stender’s attempt to cast him as anything but pro-choice is part of a “pattern of distortion.”

“The charge is ludicrous. I’m pro-choice, and I voted for an amendment to that bill that requires any pharmacy practice that does not carry a prescription drug to refer the customer to a pharmacy that does carry the prescription drug and is reasonably accessible to the customer,” he said.

But Michelle Jaker, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood's New Jersey PAC, said that the "abortion pill" is not available at pharmacies -- that it must be administrered through a licensed health care professional.

“He’s getting it mixed up with emergency contraception -- the morning after pill -- which is just a high dose of birth control," said Jaker.

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RU-486 is the pill

Submitted by FormerlyAnonymous on October 8, 2008 - 3:17pm.

It's the exact same ingredients as the pill, and is not an "abortion pill" even if it is "popularly" called that.

Lance's nuanced position is contorted more than nuanced.

Lance's pirouette around the issue

Submitted by MartinOne on October 8, 2008 - 3:22pm.

The facts don't lie: Lance voted against women being able to fill up their prescriptions for birth control, voted for parental notification (an anti-choice position), voted against civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, and has never voted for any stem cell research legislative bill. According to Lance's own responses on Project Vote Smart, this right-winger only favors the option of abortion in the case of rape or the woman's life being endangered; he even responded there that he'd consider supporting changing the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage. I don't call that "moderate" by any stretch of the imagination.

Stender is ridiculous

Submitted by thoroughlymoder... on October 8, 2008 - 3:50pm.

This is everything that is wrong with the election process today.

What does abortion have to do with a congressional campaign? The position they are running for has no real ability to take action on this issue. In fact, it's arguable that no elected position can effect any meaningful change. Ultimately, the propriety of any choice related law is a judicial issue, not an election issue.

A presidential election is the only arguable exception because a president nominates Supreme Court Justices. A Senate election is marginally connected, albeit more tenuouosly because the senate votes on judicial nominations. A congressperson, however, is a stranger to this process and is virtually powerless to act on the matter. Yet people like Stender continually inject the issue where it doesn't belong because it is divisive and polarizing and they believe they can manipulate it to their advantage.

This is why she thinks she'd be a better congressperson than Lance?

People should base their votes on issues where the candidates can make a difference or at least have some authority to act.

It's shameful, really.

formerlyanonymous=currently uneducated

Submitted by maxidoodler on October 8, 2008 - 4:47pm.

dude, what liberal Gloria Steinem rag are you getting your information from?

educate yourself and read this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/01/22/ST2008012200560.html

just because you are partisan doesn't mean you have to be stupid....

Speaking of distractions...

Submitted by backwardsjersey on October 8, 2008 - 8:10pm.

So wait Linda "Slush Fund" Stender criticizes Lance for distractions and then holds this press conference ironically the day after she got attacked for giving money to her employer via slush fund.

Here's a hint The Spender: Go look at how this attack worked against others who voted no against this bill last year.

Parental notification?

Submitted by bitaryo on October 9, 2008 - 10:23am.

Where does this come in with a choice side? A minor can't sign for or pay for any medical assistance without a parent's consent. It is basic contract law and, heaven forbid, good sense.

Parental notification?

Submitted by bitaryo on October 9, 2008 - 10:23am.

Where does this come in with a choice side? A minor can't sign for or pay for any medical assistance without a parent's consent. It is basic contract law and, heaven forbid, good sense.

George Orwell Revisited

Submitted by GOP.observer on October 9, 2008 - 1:55pm.

Pretty sad that liberals like Stender can call themselves "pro-choice" when they want to force no choice, in this instance on pharmacists whose conscience differs from the lefties. Anyone can have a choice as long as it matches their choice.

The so-called pro-choicers are anything but that: they want to force taxpayers to pay for abortions, they want to force hospitals (even Catholic hospitals) to offer abortions, they want to force medical students to receive abortion instruction, and they even oppose moderate regulations on abortion providers such as waiting periods or informed consent, so that an individual can at least make an informed choice. They are truly pro-abortion, not pro-choice, and will twist the language any way that suits them.

I don't think a pharmacy

Submitted by mikese on March 27, 2009 - 11:10am.

I don't think a pharmacy should decide what pills to give out, especially birth control. How about pain killers which contain opium doesn't that make you a drug dealer? Aren't you just hurting someone? I've been with many london escorts who were in the pill and when they heard of the pharmacists in the US denying women the pill they were outraged.

Pharmacies Vs WG Clinics

Submitted by Sindy on September 8, 2009 - 6:49am.

I know that a lot of london escorts use special clinics as apposed to pharmacies as they can get free birth control

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