September 07, 2013 11:51 AM UTC

Radio host should've corrected Herpin's statement that he'd have no say on birth control

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A radio talk show host should have corrected Colorado Springs recall candidate Bernie Herpin, when he denied yesterday that, if elected, he wouldn't have any power to restrict a woman's access to birth control.

Here's what Herpin said on KVOR's Richard Randall Show yesterday:

Randall @4:00: When they say, certain types of birth control, the implication is, if you elect an extremist like Bernie Herpin, you’re not even going to be able to get your birth-control pills in the state of Colorado.

Herpin: …Of course I’m not going to do anything to restrict a woman’s choice on birth control. That’s completely ridiculous, and I don’t even have that power. Jeez.

In fact, state government tries to restrict access to contraception because anti-abortion lawmakers consider some forms of contraception, like the morning-after pill, to be abortion drugs.

Herpin apparently missed the news, for example, that Oklahoma just passed a law requiring women 17 and over to show ID (and younger women to have a prescription) to buy emergency Plan B contraception. Last month, a judge stopped implementation of the law, which conflicts with recent FDA guidelines, pending a review of whether it violates the state constitution.

Judging from Herpin's past support for government restrictions to protect zygotes (fertilized eggs), you'd expect him to support such legislation, given that some believe Plan B potentially destroys zygotes. 

Maybe Herpin supports the morning-after pill, but we don't know until he's asked specifically about Plan B and other forms of contraception. It's not a silly question, despite what Herpin supporter Laura Carno said later during the same KVOR show:

Carno: It’s funny. I just say the Planned Parenthood ad, and this women, who’s the head of some branch of Planned Parenthood said, ‘Why are we still talking about this in this day and age?’ And I thought, exactly. Stop talking about birth control. Birth control is a product. We go to the store, the pharmacy, we pick it up. We might buy some chips and paper towels while we’re there. It is a product. Stop talking about birth control. It’s completely irrelevant.

You can say that birth-control restrictions aren't likely to pass in Colorado next year. That's fair.

But for Herpin to say he'd have no say on the matter as a state senator, or for Carno to say that it's irrelevant in this day and age, is a falsehood stinking up KVOR airwaves. Randall should clean the air with facts.