Rep Mike Kelly compares contraceptive mandate to Pearl Harbor, 9/11

PENNSYLVANIA – Today, August 1, 2012 Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly (R), an anti-women’s health representative compared this day on which health insurance companies are required to begin covering contraceptive services and preventative care benefits for women, to September 11 and Pearl Harbor. 

"I know in your mind you can think of times when America was attacked. One is December 7th, that's Pearl Harbor day.  The other is September 11th, and that's the day of the terrorist attack," Kelly said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "I want you to remember August the 1st, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates."

But healthcare advocates and women’s rights advocates condemn this statement.

"Republicans are obsessed with undermining women's health," said Keystone Progress Executive Director Michael Morrill. "Today is a historic day for 2,121,806 Pennsylvania women who will now have access to birth control, diabetes screening, HIV tests and mammograms," continued Morrill.

As required by the Affordable Care Act for the first time ever, Pennsylvania women will be granted access to potentially life-saving tests and services, without having to worry about costs. No longer will Pennsylvania women be at the disposal of their insurance companies, but will instead be able to take control of their well-being and make decisions to keep them healthy, catch possibly serious conditions at an earlier state and protect themselves and their families from colossal medical bills.