NH campaigns spar over free condoms at Ayotte event

A “free condoms” sign at a campaign event for Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on Monday set off a debate over birth control proposals in the closely-contested Senate race in New Hampshire. 

{mosads}Ayotte’s campaign offered free condoms in a promotion linked to her bill to encourage birth control being provided over the counter without a prescription.

Well @KellyAyotte just took campaign swag to a whole new level. #nhpolitics #nhsen pic.twitter.com/7ZIqOr17c8

— Josh McElveen (WMUR) (@JoshWMUR) October 3, 2016

{mosads}The campaign of Ayotte’s Democratic opponent, Gov. Maggie Hassan, then criticized Ayotte for “attempts to rewrite her record and fool Granite Staters into thinking she wants to protect their access to birth control.”

Hassan’s campaign argued that Ayotte has voted to defund Planned Parenthood six times, which would decrease access to birth control. Democratic groups say that Ayotte is now just trying to look like she is in favor of expanding access to birth control. 

Ayotte’s digital director, Thomas Reiker, responded that Democrats were making a “flat-footed response to an innovative campaign tactic”:

Only thing “desperate” is @Maggie_Hassan @NHDems (so @dscc) flat-footed response to an innovative campaign tactic #nhsen #nhpolitics

— Thomas Reiker (@ReikerRant) October 3, 2016

Hassan’s campaign then hit back, saying: “Ayotte doesn’t actually care about making birth control more affordable, she simply views it at a tactic to deceive voters.”

Ayotte’s bill would speed up the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process for applications to sell birth control over the counter, and waive the application fee for companies. 

Groups like Planned Parenthood Action Fund have criticized Ayotte’s bill, arguing that the measure lacks an important provision to require insurance companies to cover birth control over the counter, and without that provision, women could have to pay out of pocket, in contrast to ObamaCare’s protections for prescription birth control, which must be provided at no cost to the patient. 

Ayotte spokeswoman Liz Johnson responded that the bill simply leaves insurance rules as they already are. The bill “does not change current insurance coverage requirements for birth control or prevent insurance companies from continuing to cover those costs,” she said. 

Speaking more broadly about the free condoms, Johnson said, “This is a way of highlighting Kelly’s work to make birth control available over the counter. What better way to call attention to this issue than by literally making birth control more accessible?”