Former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain says his political party needs to stop obsessing over contraception:

“I think we have to fix that,” McCain said. “I think that there is a perception out there, because of the way that this whole contraception issue played out. We need to get off of that issue, in my view. I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives, and make that clear, and get back on to what the American people really care about: jobs and the economy.”

Yeah, that’s nice and yes, of course he’s right. But you know what? Once people decree that pregnant women must be forced to continue that pregnancy no matter what — poverty, unstable life situation, health problems, just plain not being ready to have a kid — you have left the path of supporting equal rights for women. Women either have authority over their bodies or they don’t. This squabbling over birth control is access is just a detail. The Republican party — like all the anti-choice moralists and religious extremists — is all messed up about women and sexuality. It needs to be burned to the ground and rebuilt.