State Rep.Lynne Blankenbeker (R-NH) suggested yesterday that married couples who can't afford birth control can use condoms or abstinence, because they're available "over the counter" and they are affordable.

"People with or without insurance have two affordable choices, one being abstinence and the other being condoms, both of which you can get over the counter," she said.

The comments came at the same hearing where state Rep. Jeanine Notter (R-Merrimack) claimed that birth control pills lead to prostate cancer. In an interview with Merrimack Patch, Notter said that she was referring to studies discussing potentially high levels of estrogen in the environment through birth control pills and a connection to prostate cancer.

Blankenbeker was engaged in a dialogue with Sylvia Kennedy, a New Hampshire doctor, who was testifying in support of Obama's plan. Kennedy urged the coverage of birth control and responded to Blankenbeker that condoms are not a foolproof means of contraception, and also suggested that abstinence does not work all the time, a notion Blankenbeker disagreed with.

"Abstinence works 100 percent of the time," she said.

Blankenbeker also asserted that condoms and abstinence offer married couples a wider range of family planning options than oral contraceptives.

"If you decide you want to get pregnant you can refrain from abstinence," she said.

Apparently Republicans need a daily reminder that the year is 2012 A.D., also that "It's the economy, stupid!"