Today in Great Ideas

[Content Note: War on agency; misogyny; choice policing.]

This guy sounds like a genius:
An Alaska lawmaker on a mission to eradicate fetal alcohol syndrome is defending his plan to provide state-funded pregnancy tests in bars in case birth control fails "chronic drinkers."

State Sen. Pete Kelly (R) said Monday before the Alaska Senate that birth control may not protect Alaskan women who drink regularly from getting pregnant.

"If you have people who are binge drinking or chronic drinkers, we're hesitant to say 'use birth control as your protection against fetal alcohol syndrome,' because again, as I say, binge drinking is a problem," he said. "If you think you can take birth control and then binge drink and hope not to produce a fetal alcohol syndrome baby, you may be very wrong. Sometimes these things don't work. Sometimes people forget. Sometimes they administer birth control improperly, and you might produce a fetal alcohol syndrome baby."

State Sen. Berta Gardner (D) then asked to correct the record to reflect that birth control is used as a protection against pregnancy, not fetal alcohol syndrome.
High-give, Sen. Gardner!

I mean, everything about this idea is totally terrific. (And, in case I'm not laying it on thick enough, that was sarcasm.) But I think the thing I love the most about it is a (small-government!) senator who is willing to spend taxpayer dollars on forced pregnancy tests, but is not willing to spend taxpayer dollars on free contraceptives or reproductive healthcare. Neat!

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