He is challenging incumbent Democrat Rebecca Chavez-Houck in the Salt Lake City district. He asked PPAC to host the debate so he could show he is the "unorthodox choice" he said.
While he calls himself pro-life, and as a family practice doctor
won't perform abortions, he strongly believes that women need to have
access to abortion services in cases of incest, rape or danger to the
mother's health.
"I've gone through the process of having my arm twisted by the Eagle Forum," he said. "I will not bow to someone else's definition of pro-life. I am pro-life and I know what that is to me."
Chavez-Houck said in her 20 years of advocacy for reproductive rights, she has seen the need for "safe, legal abortions."
Both candidates thought that the four proposed bills that would challenge Roe v. Wade were a wasted effort and that legislators should focus on other issues.
Jarvis would rather see a reduction in unintended pregnancies by increasing funding to Medicaid for postpartum contraceptives and overhauling the private health insurance industry.
However, he called a bill mandating that all insurance companies cover FDA-approved contraceptives a "waste of time."
"It's not because I disagree with it . . . but because the health industry will fight it with all its energy," he said
Instead, he argued for a statewide health benefits commission that would determine which services and prescriptions insurance companies had to cover. The commission also would judge denied claims for health benefits.
Chavez-Houck would like to see a statewide answer, but said the problem is a federal one.
"You don't have portability from state to state," she said.
Libertarian candidate Dylan McDonnell said he disagreed with the health care system.
"They insure the quality of one's life as they see fit," he said, saying that conflicted with his ideals of individual rights.
Chavez-Houck's biggest concern was access to health care and health education for people of all incomes and backgrounds.
She and Jarvis argued over party lines, with Jarvis saying that only a Republican could get other Republicans to listen to alternative perspectives on issues such as reproductive rights.
Chavez-Houck pointed to the fact that Republicans sponsored both reproductive rights bills in the 2008 session.
