Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Women Put Aspirin "Between Their Knees" As Contraception, Says Rick Santorum's Billionaire Backer


By

Jen Chung

Published Feb 16, 2012

Modified Feb 17, 2012


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Jen Chung

Published Feb 16, 2012

Modified Feb 17, 2012


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

There's not much more to say about this than "WOW." And "WTF." Rick Santorum's billionaire backer Foster Friess was on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC program complained about the focus on the birth control mandate, "Here we have millions of our fellow Americans unemployed. We have jihadist camps being set up in Latin America, which Rick has been warning about, and people seem to be so preoccupied with sex. I think it says something about our culture. We maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are... On this contraceptive thing, my Gosh it’s such [sic] inexpensive. You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly." (UPDATE, 2/17: Wait, he's joking?)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Mitchell was a little startled: According to Politico, she paused for a while and then said, "Excuse me, I’m just trying to catch my breath from that, Mr. Friess, frankly... Let’s change the subject.” (She later asked her Twitter followers how she should have handled it!)

UPDATE: Hours later, Friess tried to explain that it was all a joke! Hardy har har?

Tagged

birth control

contraception

foster friess

rick santorum

stupid

wtf


Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE news

Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn

Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.

By

Rosemary Misdary

Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET


Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

By

Samantha Max

News

Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

By

Samantha Max


Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time

By

David Brand

School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year

By

Jessica Gould

NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them

By

Clayton Guse


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .