Rep. Lauren Boebert claimed that it was cheaper to have a kid than buy birth control.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded by calling her a hypocrite, noting her voting record.
Boebert voted against a 2022 bill that would have made birth control more accessible.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert for saying she previously didn’t buy birth control because it was too expensive, noting that Boebert has voted against expanding access to it.
Boebert, who represents Colorado’s 3rd congressional district, said during a hearing on Tuesday: “I went to get birth control and I was there at the counter and went to pay for it and the price was very, very high.”
The hardline conservative, who strongly opposes abortion, said she asked the pharmacist if that was the price for a three-month or six-month prescription, but was told it was only the cost for one month’s supply.
Boebert said she told the pharmacist it was “cheaper to have a kid” and “left it there.”
She added: “And now I have my third son, Kaydon Boebert, and so it actually turned out to be a really great thing.”
In a tweet on Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez took issue with Boebert’s speech. She wrote: “And then she voted against the right to contraception so she could double this problem and give it to the next person.”
She appears to be referring to the unsuccessful Right to Contraception Act, which was co-sponsored by Ocasio-Cortez in the last Congress. It would have protected a person’s ability to access and use contraceptives and to access information about contraception.
Boebert was among the 195 Republicans who voted against it. The bill was passed by the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate, and didn’t become law.
In July 2022, President Joe Biden’s administration said it strongly supported the bill in the wake of the decision in Dobbs, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
“After the overruling of Roe, which rested on the fundamental right to privacy in matters of health, bodily autonomy, and family, it has never been more important to protect and expand access to family planning services,” his administration said in a statement.
Boebert did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Planned Parenthood notes that birth-control pills ought to be free with most health insurance plans. But according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 41% of women of reproductive age don’t know that most insurance plans are required to pay the full cost of birth control.
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