Chris Matthews Hypes Kathleen Sebelius: She's a Hero for Making Birth Control 'Free'

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with this. It's a subtle, for me, recommendation to those protesting the appearance tomorrow by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at Georgetown University. You oppose her speaking because of her position in support of abortion rights. So, let me propose a thought to you, who like me, value life. Will protesting the secretary's appearance radically reduce the millions of abortions in this country each year? Will it reduce by one? Well, what would? What practical, workable step would radically reduce the number of abortions in this free country of ours? I would suggest that it is reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Get the young men having sex with young women to stop having unwanted pregnancies. Stop protesting government officials and start talking to the people actually involved in having these millions of unwanted pregnancies. Tell them, get the word to them as parents, teachers, loved ones that if they're going to have sex, and that's a decision they ought to accept moral responsibility for, please use birth control. Just stop having unwanted pregnancies. This is how we do things in a free society that values life, not with dictatorial laws, but with persuasion. I say this as someone that accepts the moral teaching of my church, but also as someone who accepts the practical need here for effective action, not more protests. 

And now a word about Secretary Sebelius. It could be argued that this one person has done more to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies than anyone in our country. She's behind the policy of requiring insurance companies to cover birth control. Making birth control free, which is what she has done, will do more to reduce unwanted pregnancies than anything I can imagine. Certainly getting people to stop having sex is another way. Her way will, I bet, have a more dramatic result. It could actually work. I know what the protesters believe, they believe they can stop abortion by protest, by rallies, by stopping people from speaking at graduation ceremonies. Common sense tells me that the way to stop unwanted pregnancies and abortions is not in a graduation ceremony, but on what we used to call dates. It's when a young man and woman are together. We can argue against them having sex, we can also suggest that when relationships become close and respectful, birth control is far better than an unwanted pregnancy. So, here in my role as a secular adviser, I suggest those of us that think that this country would be better off with radically fewer abortions actually begin doing something about it. Kathleen Sebelius deserves credit. Again. Again. It could certainly be argued for her doing her part. Rather than protesting what she's doing, pro-lifers and pro-choicers might think about giving her a little credit, or at least let her speak.

-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.