National Journal: The Big Battle Over A Little Device

National Journal: The Big Battle Over A Little Device

By Nora Caplan-Bricker

In Colorado and Iowa, a pilot program shows that IUDs and implants can dramatically reduce teen pregnancies and abortions. But policy results and politics don’t always mix.

Don Coram is not exactly your stereotypical birth-control champion. A rancher, born and bred, the 66-year-old Republican Colorado state representative still raises cattle in Montrose, on the dusty Western Slope. He’s a big man, with a big, white mustache and sideburns, though his hair’s still steely gray. When we meet in his office in the State Capitol Building, he’s wearing black cowboy boots and khaki-colored jeans with his blazer and tie—looking, as he says with relish, like a true “redneck Republican.” He typically votes accordingly: Coram opposed Colorado’s Medicaid expansion and stood against civil unions—even though his only son, who is gay, implored him to change his mind. Read the full article here. »

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