Democrats to hold birth-control hearing

Democrats will hold their own hearing this week on contraception, with only one witness — the woman who wasn't allowed to testify before the House Oversight committee last week.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the event, her party's latest effort to capitalize on the controversy surrounding last week's hearing. Images of its all-male witness panel spread quickly online, helping Democrats frame the issue on their terms.

The only witness at Pelosi's hearing will be Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student who wasn't allowed to testify last week. 

The dueling events are a clear encapsulation of how each side wants to frame the debate over the White House's contraception mandate. Notably, neither one claims to be specifically about that policy.

Pelosi and other Democrats slammed Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) last week for convening an all-male panel to discuss a mandate that affects women's access to healthcare. Issa said his hearing was not about the contraception policy itself, but rather about religious freedom and whether the mandate encroaches on religious employers.

Likewise, the official subject of Pelosi's hearing this week is "women's health." The release announcing it does not explicitly mention contraception or birth control.

The event will be held Thursday by the Democratic Steering Committee. The panel is an organizational and policy mechanism for Democrats and does not have any legislative jurisdiction.

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