Huckabee takes aim at health law's birth control requirement

The former Arkansas governor's comments, offered as part of a speech to the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, drew harsh responses from Planned Parenthood and Democratic Party committees.

The New York Times: Huckabee Criticizes Required Coverage of Birth Control
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas minced no words on Thursday in criticizing requirements that health insurance pay for birth control. The reasoning behind the idea, he said, was that women "cannot control their libidos or their reproductive systems without the help of the government." He blamed Democrats, who, he said, "want to insult the women of America into making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing them with a prescription each month for birth control" (1/24).

Politico: Mike Huckabee Hits Dems On Women, Pill, 'Libido'
Huckabee's comments sparked a firestorm on Twitter and on cable news, and Democrats were quick to seize on the remarks. Planned Parenthood and several Democratic party committees blasted out statements, while White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the comments sounded "offensive to me and to women" (Glueck, 1/23).