--- title: Ted Cruz: There’s No Condom Shortage in America description: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said there is no "rubber shortage in America" during a campaign stop in Iowa. canonical: https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-01T16:22:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:54:59.568Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz: Conservatives Are Not the 'Condom Police' og:description: The Texas senator said conservatives don't want to ban contraceptives og:url: https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ffe30fc7f7298d8/6988733fbc6cfc09353da999/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz: Conservatives Are Not the 'Condom Police' twitter:description: The Texas senator said conservatives don't want to ban contraceptives twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ffe30fc7f7298d8/6988733fbc6cfc09353da999/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Scoffs at Idea of Conservative 'Condom Police'  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 1, 2015 4:22 PM UTC  Ted Cruz pauses while speaking at a business round table in Concord, NH on Aug. 31, 2015. Ted Cruz pauses while speaking at a business round table in Concord, NH on Aug. 31, 2015.Cheryl Senter—AP  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 1, 2015 4:22 PM UTC There are [plenty of condoms](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/ted-cruz-democrats-making-threat-condom-police-n471971?cid=sm%5Ftw&hootPostID=6e8359da9810d33c06a8dbe7f91ef029) for everyone in America, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday — and suggesting conservatives want to ban them, or other contraceptives, is “nonsense.” In comments caught on video the Republican presidential candidate mocked the idea that conservatives are anti-contraceptive, while saying Americans have plenty of access to condoms during a campaign stop in Iowa. “Last I checked, we don’t have a rubber shortage in America,” Cruz told about 300 supporters, NBC News reported. “Like look, when I was in college, we had a machine in the bathroom. You put 50 cents in and voila!” “\[My wife\] Heidi and I, we have two little girls. I’m very glad we don’t have 17,” he added, suggesting he personally had no objection to using contraception. The presidential hopeful weighed in on birth control after an audience member asked about his stance on making contraception available for women. “Anyone who wants contraceptives can access them, but it’s an utterly made-up nonsense issue,” Cruz said. “I have been a conservative my entire life. I have never met anybody, any conservative who wants to ban contraceptives.” Cruz blamed Hillary Clinton and Democrats for fearmongering about a phony “war on women” when it comes to women’s health issues. “You’re Hillary Clinton and you’re trying to think, ‘How do I run?'” Cruz said. “You go, ‘Ah ha! The condom police.'” “‘I’m going to make up a completely made up threat and try to scare a bunch of folks that are not paying a lot of attention into thinking someone’s going to steal their birth control,'” Cruz added. “What nonsense.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Scoffs at Idea of Conservative 'Condom Police'","datePublished":"2015-12-01T16:22:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:54:59.568Z","description":"\"It's an utterly made-up nonsense issue.\"","url":"https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ffe30fc7f7298d8/6988733fbc6cfc09353da999/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ffe30fc7f7298d8/6988733fbc6cfc09353da999/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ted Cruz","caption":"Ted Cruz","creditText":"Cheryl Senter—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130833/ted-cruz-condoms/","name":"Ted Cruz Scoffs at Idea of Conservative 'Condom Police'"}}]}] ```