is "now." 16 weeks, 16 weeks ago president obama went to newtown to help the nation make sense of what had just happened. >> we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness? and with purpose? i've been reflecting over this the last few days and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no. we're not doing enough. and we will have to change. >> 16 weeks ago, there was a feeling that change was possible. there was a belief that congress might mandate that every gun purchaser undergo a background check. that politician was put an end to the use of high-capacity magazines, or even reinstitute the federal assault weapons ban that passed 20 years ago.

>> are we really prepared to say that we're powerless? the face of such carnage? that the politics are too hard? are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children, year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom? >> yesterday 16 weeks and one day later, president obama returned to connecticut. the belief that congress could and would pass broad comprehensive gun safety legislation had been shaken. and in its place, was indignation. >> some folks back in washington are already floating the idea that they may use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms. think about that. they're they're not just saying they'll vote no on ideas that almost all americans support,

they're saying they'll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions. they're saying your opinion doesn't matter. and that's not right. >> a growing group of republican senators, that now includes minority leader mitch mcconnell are threatening to filibuster the gun safety bill, vowing to prevent a vote rather than issuing a no on the floor of the senate. majority leader, harry reid, spoke there this morning beside a board reading, they deserve a vote, next to a memorial of the victims of sandy hook. yesterday his frustration boiled over. >> many senate republicans seem afraid to even engage in this debate. shame on them, madam president. the least republicans owe the parents of these 20 little ba babies who were murdered at sandy hook is a thoughtful debate of whether stronger laws could have saved their little girls and boys. the least republicans owe them is a vote. >> mcconnell's decision to join

in the obstructionism moves the filibuster beyond a faction of disgruntled insurgents and into a partywide issue. "the new york times" writes today that mcconnell's decision has quote effectively made the threatened filibuster a test of republican unity. the group of 14 that aims to push the legislation back into the shadows will have to contend with another faction before they do so. mark and jackie burden. all the names of the newtown parents. which is to say -- before the senate republicans push the attempt at reform into the annals of yesterday, they will be confronted by 12 family members of newtown victims and they will be forced, for however briefly, to remember. joining me today, editorial director of the "national journal" ron foreign anywhere. newly minted msnbc host, karen finney, frank brunei and author

and salon.com contributor, david. let's talk about the filibuster. some part of me doesn't understand which is the better/worse, which is to say for republicans opposed to moving the ball forward on gun safety reform, is it better to take the no vote or to filibuster this? which behooves them in the long run? >> if you're looking at the short run, for a lot of them it makes sense to fight this. a lot of them are running in states that are red states or they're worried about house members who are running in red districts. long run, and not the too distant long run, it's a big mistake. just purely politically. i like to look at things very nonpartisan i don't have a dog in this fight, politically, but i don't get what they're doing. 90% of the public is for the background check. how can you be on the wrong side of a 90/10 issue? there's one side on debate that is staying pretty close to the facts, and that's president obama and the democrats and there's the other side that's making stuff up. saying that the background check

is unconstitutional. we already have a background check, which is expanded. the republican party has a serious branding problem. and they see what the mistake they made with immigration. they see they were behind history in gay rights, they'll find themselves behind history on gun protection if they're not careful. >> and frank, you know, i think the filibuster is often sort of a parliamentary procedure that americans don't pay attention to. it's this cloak and dagger tool. >> that's what they're betting on. >> i think too time is different. in so far as the president is talking about it as a stunt, we're talking about the names of the men trying to filibuster this. they're in the sunshine on this in a way that they haven't necessarily. >> the white house obama has been very aggressive. he's been criticized in the past, i've criticized him for not using the bully pulpit and not educating the public. we talked about that with obama care. he's doing an admirable job of making sure that americans know what's going on in congress and understand what the filibuster is about. they're not talking about not allowing a vote. they're talking about not even allowing debate.

it's just, it's 16 weeks, it's shocking how -- how shattered we all were, are, by what happened and where this debate is now. and i think ron's absolutely right. i think when people look back on this it's going to hurt the brand of the republican party even in some states in terms of primaries and the base it's a popular thing for this moment. >> i agree with that in terms of from the political context. but i also think it would send a larger message in this country. i mean this is voter suppression to the extreme, right? they're saying we're not going to even vote on something that 90% of the american people agree. if that's not suppressing the will of the people, i don't know what is. and obviously given the tragedy of newtown, if nothing changes, what message does that send the rest of the country about what is going on in washington, and what does it actually take to get something done in washington? >> even congress's approval rating plunge even lower. >> in terms of the playing field changing, mayor bloomberg has taken a lead on this issue. mayors against illegal guns has been really active, david.

today bloomberg sent a letter to congress saying in the coming months we will issue a scorecard, assigning member as letter grade based on their gun policy records. that is a rejoineder, response to the nra scorecards. >> there's going to be a lot of pressure. but there's two points here that i think we're missing about what's going on in washington. first and foremost, this is a referendum, yet another one on why the democrats need to fundamentally reform the filibuster. the filibuster allows 11% of the population enough senate representation to stop what 89% of the population wants. this is the first lesson. the second lesson, i think is that the president i think he's done a good job of pointing to states like colorado, like connecticut and saying, if they can do it there, we can do it in congress. that ignores fact that state legislatures don't have a fliktser. now he needs to look at the list of senators and look at where they are from, which states that he either won in or was close to winning in, and go to those states and put grassroots pressure on them from voters.

that's the only thing that's going to get through to them. >> i'd like him to go to those states and i would like him to be joined on the stage by families of victims of gun violence from those states last year and make him look those people in the eye. >> the fact that the families of victims of nowtown are going to the hill. say i know you may be trying to prevent -- >> i don't actually know how you pretend to be a leader in the republican party as mitch mcconnell presumes to be and to not even allow this legislation to come to debate. >> marco rubio is part of the filibuster and he wants to be a leader. >> to the right side, wrong side of history. ron you had a piece analyzing players in this and one specifically is pat toomey. the fact that toomey is you know, in pennsylvania, he's going to face a tough, presumably tough re-election fight in 2014. where do you stand today in terms of thinking that he may be the swing vote, if you will, the guy that sort of helps shepherd this through, if in fact it does get to the floor and the senate. >> he's a good example of

somebody who is on a bubble now and there's going to be more people on the bubble as americans realize something has to be done about guns. here's a guy who barely run in a land slide gop year. who by any measure is going to have a tough election. it's a state that leans democratic. and that you can't be seen as an obstructionist. people want stuff done in washington, even if it's not stuff they want done, they want something done. which is why the biggest problem of this is it just defies the common-sense approach. even if you're an nra member in northern michigan, where i'm from, theyed that we're in the going to vote on this? >> here you have a house where you have republicans who have gerrymandered their districts where the thing they're most afraid of, many republicans is a pro nra, they take the position where i don't get a primary is the position i'm taking. and the nra knows then that if a bill comes out of the senate and

gets to the house we will see john john boehner to do what he's been doing, allow bills to pass with the minority of republicans and the majority of democrats. the filibuster is bad for the republicans. i think it reiterates the idea that the nra must be up in the grille of those senators saying you cannot let this out of the senate bass boehner has shown he's willing to pass bills with a minority of republicans. >> they've targeted eric canter in advertisements saying look, eric cantor is going to help shepherd through president obama's gun legislation. >> a lie, by the way. >> but, i want to take, i want to find out people's thoughts on the idea that the president said yesterday, i'm not going to paraphrase him. we'll play the sound that this isn't about him. this is about something bigger, let's hear the sound. >> connecticut, this is not about me. this is not about politics. this is about doing the right thing for all the family who is are here that have been torn apart by gun violence. it's about them.

and all the families going forward, so we can prevent this from happening again. >> okay, so karen, i mean i think, the president is prone to say this isn't about me. and sometimes i think he's right and sometimes i do think it is about republicans not wanting to cooperate with him or be seen as in cahoots with the president. i don't, i think he's right on this one. i do think that this is about a larger issue and i don't think the republican resistance is so much about passing obama's gun laws as it is worrying about a challenge from the right or worrying about what's happening at home with the base. >> as a matter of messaging strategy and that's one of the most fascinating elements of this debate if that's what it takes to keep your constituents where need them, obama is going to take your guns, that's why they're making it about him. obviously in different parts of the country, there are different arguments that are working. one of the things that the white house has done most effectively and our own joe scarborough did a great job, we're talking about

keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. it's a very simple concept that almost i can't imagine one american doesn't understand. >> the point about a local message just as one small example, they are invoking obama in my home state of colorado, when you go to the front page of the "denver post" there was an ad for a week on there showing obama as the puppet master of governor john hickenlooper. and john hickenlooper holding up a sign saying he passed a skuld gun ban. that message is a message designed to activate the republican pace. >> he's also talking to us in the press. we tend to write about this. as will he win, will he lose, what will happen to his currency. i think he's trying to say to us and thus to the american people, don't treat this as a political chess game. treat this as the matter of public safety that it is. >> it is about him. he is the president of the united states. this is his agenda. >> but it's still a good line to use. >> and he is the best -- he

alone has, is the person who has the best chance of getting this done. i think this is a big test, not just for him rhetorically and i agree with you, he's done a wonderful job this week, not like in some of the past. but it's also for ofa. he's got this landmark historical organization for the first time we're going to see if we can have a grassroots operation change public policy. if he can't change public policy. if ofa can't change public policy on this issue where they have a 90/10 advantage, you have to wonder about the ability -- >> that's fair. and i think it's as much for a call to arms, not actual arms, but a call for action and saying don't make it just about me succeeding or winning in the white house, but get involved. call your congressman, which is what he says over and over again. which is of course how the nra and many other ways, wields its influence. and i think it's also trying to put this in the context of a national tragedy. and saying that we -- >> it's a public safety issue. >> and this is something he talked about during the

campaign, right? it's also trying to put some responsibility back on we the people. we are accountable as well. we have to hold our elected officials accountable. if they don't do what we want, we have to hold them accounta e accountable. when they do do what we want, we have to to hold them accountable. back to ron's point, imagine all that activism and nothing gets done. what will this mean? that frightens me. >> he's trying to create as much ardor for gun control as there has been for resistance. there is the first time politicians, do they have the ardor of the 10% who oppose it. he's trying to create that ardor. >> that's what a leader does, convince everybody, don't just sit at home and be upset, take action. >> what i fear is the white house officials have done it before on for instance on the health care or the public option -- is that he has not taken the next step to go into places where he might get some push-back. to try to actually generate pressure on specific republicans. and in that list, look, he norto

north carolina which i won in 2008 and i'm going to call the senator out for filibustering. i'm going to florida. >> that's what bloomberg is going to do. >> that's what the president needs to do. >> they need to travel together. we will keep showing the full screen. those are the guys right there that are trying to filibuster this. when we come back, conservatives challenge their inner alex p. keaton. we'll reexampine thatcherism. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks...

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in the early 1980s, margaret thatcher's unapologetic belt-tightening contributed to the fortunes of many and also caused skyrocketing unemployment, leading critics on both sides to call for change. living up to her moniker, the iron lady, remained defiant. >> for those waiting with baited breath for the u-turn, i have only one thing to say, you turn if you want to. the lady is not for turning. >> today conservatives are still praising thatcher's refusal to turn left or to turn at all. we'll discuss the former prime minister's steadfastness and contribution to income inequality, next on "now." we've all had those moments.

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following the passing of britain's iron lady yesterday, conservatives and leading republicans raced to see who could offer the warmest embrace. mitch mcconnell, she became an iconic symbol of the transformative power of conservative ideas. ted cruz, rejecting the failures of socialism, she won the argument for liberty. john boehner, margaret thatcher, a grocer's daughter stared down elites, union bosses and communists. the right's love for thatcher centers around her championing of market forces to end organized labor's powerful grip on the british economy. as john cassidy writes in the "new yorker" when thatcher came to power, the social compact that had held britain together since world war ii appeared to be coming apart. in its obituary, "the guardian" summed up thatcher's legacy, writesing that the ideals of collective effort, full employment and a managed economy

were replaced by the politics of me and mine, deregulation and the markets and privatization of the state's assets. thatcherism gave rise to a conservative love affair across the pond. but the ardor did much to blind its lovers to reality. thatcher's brutal takedown of the unions, dismantling of the social safety net and monetary policies, helped to contain double-digit inflation and raised unemployment levels to those not seen since the great depression. the gap between those with and without opened up dramatically. on the subject of raising taxes, an anathema to modern-day conservatives, thatcher cut personal income taxes, lowering the top rate from 83% to 60%, but she simultaneously paid for those taxes by raising the national v.a.t. sales tax from 8% to 15%. and it was thatcher's institution of a regressive pole tax in 1989 that led to widespread rioting and her

subsequent downfall. in the same way that conservatives of today view ronald reagan through rose-tinted glasses, ignoring the fact that the gipper raised taxes 11 times during his presidency and tripled the deficit, so, too, with thatcher, conservatives ignore the realities of maggie's role. joining the panel now is john cassidy, staff writer for "the new yorker." john, great to see you. >> nice to see you. >> it's not just because you have a keen economic mind and a british accent that we're having you on for this, john, it's because you're always great in terms of analyzing this stuff. i want to ask this kind of legacy-making that the americans have done around ronald reagan seems to be happening right now around margaret thatcher. coming at a particularly opportune time as we discuss the deficit and the role about the size and scope of government. as someone who lived through thatcherism, what is your take on her legacy? >> well i think there's two reasons really why it's such a big deal at the moment. number one, mrs. thatcher was

mrs. thatcher. she gave her name to thatcherism along with ronald reagan, the biggest conservative figure in the late 20th century. not just that, mrs. thatcher was sort of a combination of ronald reagan, ayn rand and dr. strangelove. wrapped into one. she was sort of the ultimate conservative pin-up. and as you say in your introduction, she never went away if that. i think that she was always going to be a big deal when she died. and to the extent that she changed things, she deserves that. the second thing is there's a conservative government running britain at the moment. or a conservative liberal coalition and they're in a lot of trouble. so i think they're sort of trying to seize upon the moment now. to sort of unify the country and put, seize upon her legacy, to try and justify what they're doing at the moment. you know she's going to have what is effectively a state funeral. although it's not being called that. it's being called a ceremonial funeral. and you know, the government tried to exploit the olympics last year to sort of unify britain and bolster the ratings, i think they're keen to do the same with mrs. thatcher.

even though, ironically, a lot of conservatives didn't want anything to do with her in the last 10 or 15 years because she was seen as political poison. >> to the degree that conservatives are riding the coattails of margaret thatcher, there seems to be a sort of truth discrepancy here. and i guess i wonder, would margaret thatcher even be accepted into sort of modern conservative circles? she was raising taxes, she had a particularly good record on the environment. and the other thing, andrew sullivan points this out in one of his analysis after her passing, thatcher didn't have any time for the loopy idea that cutting taxes would increase net revenues. these ideas, those sort of the house of cards that is at the foundation of the american gop's fiscal policies is not something that i think margaret thatcher would suffer. >> in a was always a big difference between the uk conservatives and american conservatism. mrs. thatcher cut spending, cut

taxes and she increased the consumption tax, the v.a.t. she took deficit reduction very seriously. if that meant cutting social programs, she was perfectly happy to do it she slashed the value, the equivalent of social security. she slashed the value of welfare benefits, she was willing to take on unpopular decisions. republicans love to talk about cutting taxes and cutting spending, they're happy to ultimately to see the deficit rise rather than taking unpopular decisions. >> and let's talk about that, frank. >> that's a great point. this is one core difference between thatcher's tories and reagan republicans, thatcher cut spending significantly and durably. she never promised something for nothing. and withstood great protests eventually was taken out effectively because of protests against her policies. there's the sense that you can have it all for nothing. and in sort of modern fiscal policy. >> just look at the eight bush years, we were told when he campaigned for the presidency, he was all about lower spending,

less government and when he left office it was with the most enormous debt and deficits, not just from war, but also from the expansion of entitlements for medicare part d. >> and there's an interesting analog between britain and the united states and ronald reagan and margaret thatcher. margaret thatcher remain as divisive figure in brib because of higher economic inequality, higher poverty. because of her term, she's divisive over there. ronald reagan, there's a new poll out today from national geographic, which shows that ronald reagan remains wildly popular and that americans want to go back to the 1980s. even though very similar trends happen in the 1980s in the united states. as happened in britain. so there's -- what's fascinating is that it seems like the british people have a memory of what the '80s was actually like, when thatcherism was actually like and america doesn't have as good a memory of reaganism. >> we're a nostalgic crew? >> apparently.

>> it speaks to concerted effort to protects the legacy of ronald reagan. to have a narrative of what that president was like, facts be damned. to really put forward this impression. so a lot of people who probably don't even remember reagan as president, yeah he sounds like a good guy. with thatcher -- there's not anybody trying to do that. >> but it's not new. we make narratives, we make myths out of all of our presidents, lincoln, bush, clinton. washington. we make myths about all -- and we remember only what we want to remember. secondly, i think what's really going on here with republicans in our country, what they really admire about thatcher, she was a leader. as obama said about ronald reagan, she transformed politics, as reagan did this in country. she knew how to wield power without apology, without surrender, without any prisoners. you have to think about mitch mcconnell as he's debating whether or not to participate in

the filibuster, he's looking in the mirror and see maggie thatcher stare back. >> he would say that i'm no surrender, i'm a leader. >> the boomerang of the reagan presidency, when you look at the record of ronald reagan and i'm no reaganist, right. but if you look at the record of ronald reagan and you're holding up, reagan is the greatest thing, ever, guess what, you're showing over and over and over again, that your republican party is no longer the party of ronald reagan. >> and john, we still have it here, the other things that you know, someone argued that thatcher's deregulation set the stage for a lot of the crises we have now, reading an excerpt from "vanity fair." margaret thatcher's financial reforms, notably her big bang deregulation of 1986, caused the stream of bankers to turn into a

river and a deluge. goldman sachs partners, morgan stanley partners were the top of the market and we had a lot of them. >> that's one of the ironies of mrs. thatcher. some of the people who did the best under her were the foreigners who moved to london because of the favor deregulation regime. british industry did need a kick in the pants to some extent. the system which had been in place since 1945 had broken down. even labor party supporters such as myself, would agree to that. there was a whole series of strikes and everything. the argument is that maybe we need a bit of shock therapy. but mrs. thatcher, there was too much shock and not enough therapy. she demolished the unions, introduced a big fiscal austerity program which sent the exchange rate through the roof. that made a lot of british industry uncompetitive and basically wiped out a lot of british industry, which has

never come back. so the city of london has had 20 or 30 years of boom until the recent bust. whereas a lot of the rest of the country. a lot of the rest of the uk is still never really recovered from the 1980s. that's one of the reasons why mrs. thatcher, although she's very popular in some circles, is very unpopular in others. >> john, i have to ask you, because i think americans have a more nostalgic view of margaret thatcher than perhaps the citizens of the united kingdom. being someone who has spent some time there and has roots there, have you spoken to your fellow brits and gotten a read on sort of what the national mood is after her passing? >> i think most people, i mean mrs. thatchers with a sort of sad old lady for the last ten years, she had alzheimer's, she had a terrible decline. think there's a national wave of sympathy for her and her family, that she's died, that you get naturally. people do respect the fact that she was a strong leader.

whatever you thought of her, she was tough as nails. but having said that, there's always been a basic binary distribution on mrs. thatcher, you either love her or you hate her. i came from the background where most people didn't like mrs. thatcher and they don't like her any more now than they did then. but at the same time there is sort of a lingering recognition that some of the things she did were necessary. the labor party for example basically adopted a lot of her economic policies in the '90s, they didn't try to go back to the cooperative system we had in place in the '70s and '80s. that doesn't mean people still like mrs. thatcher. she wasn't just a sort of economic liberal she was very conservative socially and gave sort of succor to foreign dictators and things like that. >> she criticized nelson mandala as a terrorist. and made her bed with pinochet. >> she was a down-the-line conservative. if you like down-the-line conservatives, you loved her. otherwise, you didn't.

>> that was many but at the same time's for you, john cassidy. thank you so much for your time and analysis. if a discussion on margaret thatcher makes you nostalgic for the '80s, take note and tune in, david sirota is part of a show this weekend called "the 8 0s, the decade that made us on the national geographic channel. coming up, what is the matter with kansas or north dakota or apparently, 40 other states? state legislatures across the country are now considering hundreds of abortion-related bills, we'll discuss the ongoing patel over women's bodies, just ahead. mom always got good nutrition to taste great. she was a picky eater. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals,

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a federal judge rules against a key provision in the affordable care act regarding the morning after pill. a decision made by the

administration, despite representations from the medical community. >> secretary sebelius made this decision, the president supported that decision after she made it. and i think said so in the briefing room when he was asked about it. and he, he supports that decision today. >> we will discuss the troubling intersection of politics and women's reproductive health, just ahead. [ male announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align. ♪ need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's a probiotic that fortifies your digestive system with healthy bacteria 24/7. because your insides set the tone. stay in the groove with align.

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across the country, every day, the battle continues over a woman's right to choose. and this week is no different, except this time, in a surprising turn of events, science seems to have actually trumped ideology and politics. on friday, a federal judge in new york ordered the fda to make the morning after pill, commonly known as plan b, available over the counter to women of all ages. the ruling was issued by edward

korman, a republican-appointed judge who overturned a 2011 decision by the obama administration's health secretary, kathleen sebelius, to bar girls under 17 from obtaining the morning after pill without a prescription. at the time the sebelius overruled the fda, claim she was not confident in the safety of the pill for young girls. president obama supported the decision, saying it was only common sense that the drug not be available alongside bubble gum or batteries. in his ruling, judge kormen asserted that sebelius's decision had nothing to do with common sense. writing the secretary's action was politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent. he also attacked the administration's logic. writing the invocation of the adverse effect of plan b on 11-year-olds is an excuse to deprive the overwhelming majority of women of their right to obtain contraceptives without unjustified or burdensome

restrictions. a judge appointed by ronald reagan is calling out a democratic administration for playing politics with women's reproductive health. "the new york times" editorial board agreed. judge kormen's ruling a well-deserved rebuke to a politically motivated decision that overrode sound science and the health needs of young girls in order to placate opponents of emergency contraception. but in other aspects of women's health, science rarely trumps politics and not all republicans are quite as practical as judge kormen. across the country, states are chipping away at a woman's right to choose. provisions to limit access to reproductive health have been introduced in 42 states. and already this year, 2013, 300 bills to restrict abortion access have been introduced at the state level. from north dakota, to arkansas, kansas, florida and indiana, republican-controlled legislatures are taking the fight against women's health to a whole new level. a dozen states have now banned

abortion at or before 20 weeks in blatant disregard of the nation's current law. government intrusion into women's bodies has gotten so extre extreme, that the planned parenthood president told the "huffington post" that there are now states where it's not safe to be a woman. when it's clear that a democratic administration is willing to let politics intrude on the issue of women's health, and over 80% of states in the nation are trying to limit women's health care, and restricting her right to choose -- you can also say that et cetera not really safe to be a woman anywhere. guys found my. we don't have it. you don't even know my name. [ sniffs ] are you wearing my sweater? [ male announcer ] good thing she hasn't noticed his pants. ♪ gain fireworks boosts the amazing scent for up to 12 weeks. ♪

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as the father of two daughters, i think it is important for us to make sure that you know we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine. >> that was president obama in

2011, standing by hhs secretary, kathleen sebelius's decision to prevent girls from under 17 from obtaining the morning after pill without a prescription. when sebelius made that decision she went against scientific advice given to her by scientists at the fda, the american medical association, the american congress of obstetricians and gynecologists and the american academy of pediatrics. although the administration claimed common sense was at the root of its zindecision, offici acknowledge that doing otherwise would be two controversial for a president grappling with critics his health care plan. now that the mandate has been struck down by a district court and the president has been re-elected. the fate of plan b looks slightly more certain. if only the same could be said for the fate of women's reproductive rights on whole. karen, let's talk about this decision. because we were talking during break, it was, the question, the question of contraception

coverage in the affordable care act remains a contested issue. i mean there is talk that the fight is not yet over on that. at the time it was perhaps more politically expedient to say we're not going to make the morning after pill available to women of all ages. do you think that the obama administration regrets that or has in any way mixed feelings with the current decision being handed down? >> i don't think so. from a purely political, not policy, not morals or what have you, from a purely political standpoint, this worked out perfectly for the administration. because essentially, as you said in your column, that you have a republican judge, basically saying -- shame on you, to a democratic administration on this issue. so now the administration can just kind of walk away, lean back, walk away from it and not actually have to and he's been re-elected. he does not have to take this issue on in the same way that he's going to have to, he still has to take on birth control

obviously access to other forms of birth control and the other erosion of women's rights. >> ron, elizabeth dworkin in bloomberg agrees. defusing a source of tension with women voters while drawing the ire of the religious right away from the president and toward the courts. >> throw in a note of caution, the president put quote marks around common sense. let's assume that he really believed that it's common sense not to have morning after pills next to batteries and bubble gum. i would also posit if you get out of the coast and out of studios like this and out of news rooms out in middle america, i don't think you have to be a republican or a conservative to have, to have some pause about the idea of your kids being able to walk into a drug store and get the morning after pill. i think that is discon certaining to some people and the president and your party needs to think about that.

>> david, the president, we played that sound, he couched this in personal experience. he said as the father of two daughters, i don't, i mean he expressed apprehension about them being able to buy the morning after pill. now whether or not that fit into sort of the political calculus, now he has the sort of uncomfortable position of what, sort of walking that back? or doing nothing? and saying i'm now okay with them having access? >> i think it's sort of don't ask don't tell. i'm not going to talk about it. i do think the court makes an important precedent here. which says that when it comes to a woman and her body and her relationship with her doctor, physician, that she should have access to these things and the president -- it's not necessarily in conflict with what the president said about common sense. as a parent, i totally understand the idea of wanting to make sure that you're as involved as possible, but underscoring as possible. in those health care decisions,

but there are women who don't have parents, who or there are women who have parents who may not want them to do that. or it may cause family controversy it may cause a family crisis. so the law has a responsibility, the law to weigh in on the part -- of the individual. >> and we're seeing this is a reagan-apainted judge, returning to actually a bedrock foundational principle of conservatism. >> i also think we need to nudge, we can be fant sifts or realists when it comes to teen sexuality. if you make the pills available without prescription to girls under 17, you're telling them it's okay to have 17. you're telling them you don't want to have an unwanted pregnancy. which brings us to the abortion fights in all the states. one of the best ways to limit the number of abortions, which is a goal that everybody across the political spectrum shares is to diminish unwanted pregnancies. making plan b more available, diminishes unwanted pregnancies.

>> the gutmacher institute which frequently does studies of these sorts of things -- you should disclose that i am on the board of naral pro choice america, 2005-2008 when the data was available, the rate of sexual activity among teenagers stayed the same. however, teen pregnancy rates actually went down. it went up in a handful of states like mississippi, texas, arkansas, unfortunately, states that are now, we're not just talking about limiting access to the legal procedure of abortion, limiting access to birth control. but now limiting access to sex education so that kids would have the information to not get pregnant. >> i would love to live in a world where fewer kids have sex at a young age. but i want kids to have the right information and if they make a mistake, i don't want them to have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. >> what if they were raped or molested or abused. >> there's a con flags of

legalizing something and endorsing it. this happens across our politics. i'll give you another example. in the fight in my state of colorado to legalize marijuana, the debate was portrayed as well if you're for legalizing marijuana, you want everybody to smoke marijuana. no, the idea was that marijuana is already universally available. do you want it legalized and regulated and taxed? or it to be on the black market? you're not endorsing the use of it. it's the same thing here. for it to be available and legal, you're not endorsing it. >> the difference between pot and reproductive health is that there is i think massive divide over where the country is at on this. just if you look at what's happening in republican-held state legislatures, karen. florida now requires doctors to offer emergency medical care to babies born alive. which is not necessarily, which is not a bad thing. but this is all about sort of getting involved in the process of having an abortion. whether that is a transvaginal ultrasound or post-facto. kansas, the life begins at fertilization bill.

you have this decision, right, this plan b decision, which look, it happened on friday, but-day not think the debate over it is over. especially if you look at what's happening on the state level. >> i think you're right. and i think that what's happening at the state level, i guess the other cautionary tale i would say is and you know this living in colorado, for democrats, we have to pay attention to the state legislative races, part of the reason this is happening is because we did not pay attention and you have these republican-controlled legislatures. and they are where a lot of the action is and where a lot of the decisions that most affect your life are being made. >> the action is wrapping up on this show. i forgot we had to end it and it's actually time for the show to be over. thank you to ron, karen, frank and david that is all for now, i'll see you back here tomorrow at noon when i'm joined by robert division, ezra klein. until then, follow us on twitter. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. ou wear dentures you may not know it, but your mouth is under attack.

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