First testifer at contraceptives hearing gaveled down twice

The first person to testify at this afternoon’s packed hearing on HB 530, the bill to permit any Idaho insurance plan to exclude coverage for contraception, sterilization or abortion-inducing drugs, was gaveled down twice by committee Chair Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls. The first came when Yvette Sedlewicz of Boise commented, “I’m kinda surprised that there are so few women on the committee.” McGeachin admonished Sedlewicz to refrain from personal comments; the only female member of the committee besides McGeachin is Rep. Sue Chew, D-Boise; the other eight members are males.

Sedlewicz told the committee that millions of American women have tubal ligations and that the typical patient is over 30 and married with two or three children. “Why do you want to press your religious beliefs upon others who not believe as you do?” she asked. The second gaveling came when Sedlewicz told the committee, “In Afghanistan they sell their daughters into marriage, they sell women into marriage, they sell women into adultery. Is this what you’re aiming for in the United States?” McGeachin said, “Ma’am, that’s not appropriate. … You’re speaking to people’s motives.”