Senator McCain's Stance on Women's Issues
Reproductive Rights, Equal Pay, Poverty, and Education
Women's Health and Reproductive Issues
One sticking point for women opposed to McCain's candidacy the fact that he has repeatedly stated his opposition to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that declared a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. With several aging justices on the "left side" of the bench, an anti-choice candidate could have an opportunity to replace one of those justices with someone in favor of overturning Roe or further restricting the abortion right, which stands on tenuous ground in some areas.
According to a 2008 Planned Parenthood report, McCain has also voted against related measures dealing with reproductive health, including a 2003 vote against requiring insurance companies to cover oral contraceptives (birth control) and a 2005 vote against providing emergency contraception for rape survivors. He has indicated support for the global gag rule, opposition to comprehensive sex education, and opposition to federal funding to prevent teen pregnancies. He voted in favor of the Vitter Amendment, which would de-fund Planned Parenthood.
Equal Pay for Equal Work
In a July 11th, 2008 Washington Post blog, Michael Dobbs noted that McCain claimed in an address on that date to support equal pay for women, but opposes the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Act would allow women who have discrimination claims against an employer to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the current 180-day deadline, which is hard to meet due to the difficulty in proving a pattern of workplace discrimination. McCain claimed that his opposition was based on the problems the Act would create in overwhelming the docket with lawsuits. He also stated that women need education and training, rather than equal pay legislation.
Impoverished Women and Children
According to candidate-tracking website OntheIssues.org, McCain's approach to poverty focuses on tax cuts and welfare-to-work programs. He does support increased childcare funding and housing assistance, but also believes that unwed teenaged mothers should be required to live with a parent or guardian and attend school to receive benefits. He also supports federal tax incentives to help families pay for college.
Education
Though not strictly a women's issue, many women do consider education a top priority in government funding. According to On the Issues, McCain takes a traditional Republican approach to this issue generally, believing that education is best left up to the states. For example, he believes that school districts should decide whether to include creationism in their science curricula and is opposed to federal funding tied to national testing standards. He supports vouchers, charter schools, and home schooling, and believes that funding should come from tax breaks rather than public education money. He also supports increased teacher salaries, merit-based pay, and helping unqualified teachers find other lines of work.
In the Senate, McCain voted for the Education A-Plus Bill in 1997 and 1999, which would let parents open tax-free savings accounts for educational expenses. He also supported bills to help at-risk children and reduce the dropout rate for minority students. He proposed the Ed-ACT Bill to focus control of schools at the local level, help schools hire teachers, encourage English proficiency, and increase higher education saving options.
However, McCain also voted against funding for community learning centers, grants to local education agencies, a shift in money from corporate tax loopholes to education, funding for smaller class sizes, and reducing a tax cut to increase education spending. He voted in favor of allowing memorial prayers on school campuses, cutting off funding to districts that do not allow voluntary prayer, and abstinence-only education.
