WASHINGTON — A fuming Rep. Carolyn Maloney yesterday stormed out of a congressional committee hearing on contraception and religious protection — because the witness panel was entirely male.
“What I want to know is: Where are the women?” the Manhattan Democrat said. “I don’t see one individual representing the tens of millions of women across the country who want and need insurance coverage for basic preventive health-care services, including family planning.”
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) also protested the hearing, called to address President Obama’s edict that religious institutions provide insurance that will pay for contraception.
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) agreed with House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) that religious liberty, not contraception, was the focus.
“This is a fundamental assault on one’s conscience,” said Buerkle.