Dr. Anne Davis, Consulting Medical Director at Physicians for Reproductive Health, issued the following statement in response to President-elect Trump’s selection of Katy Tolento, who has a history of anti-birth control statements, to serve as a health care policy aide for the administration’s Domestic Policy Council.
Katy Talento’s comments on birth control are wrong. Decades of established science clearly show contraception prevents pregnancy—it does not cause abortion or miscarriages. Women and doctors know from research, as well as our collective experiences, that birth control does not harm a woman’s fertility or health. The opposite is true. Contraception allows women to plan the timing of their pregnancies. Planned pregnancies mean better outcomes for women, their children, and their families. Contraception has far-reaching health benefits, including preventing cancer of the uterus and ovaries. It’s disturbing that someone appointed to lead in healthcare policy would be so misinformed about birth control—what the Centers for Disease Control has lauded as one of the signature health achievements of the 20th century.