In solidifying her street creds with those who are waging a war on women's ladyparts, Megyn Kelly has been unwavering in her support for the Hobby Lobby decision and denunciation of those who oppose it. As part of her strident defense of the court's ruling, she has taken her talking points straight out of the radical "personhood" anti-choice playbook in her argument that certain types of ACA covered contraceptives cause abortions. This, scientifically speaking, is a lie but one that has been pushed by the "fair & balanced" Fox News and it's "truth detector" Megyn Kelly. But while Fox has revered the court decision, it was "viciously mocked" by Jon Stewart. Validating right wing outrage, Kelly hit back in a bravura performance this week. During an almost hysterical monologue on "fertilized eggs" she went beyond her usual level of snark and petulance in attempting to prove that Stewart was wrong because - wait for it - science!
While the crusading Fox Catholic (and quite fecund - three kids in three years!) Kelly claims that she is "moderate and reasonable", when it comes to women's reproductive rights, she is anything but. Her support for the "pro-life" movement has included attacks on pro-choice candidate for TX governor Wendy Davis, ridicule of Sandra Fluke, support for Catholic nuns who won't sign off on their ACA waiver form, affirmation for the Catholic bishops' opposition to the ACA's birth control mandate, and publicizing anti-choice opposition to, yes, Girl Scout cookies. So given her track record, it's not surprising that she would go to great lengths to "prove" that Stewart, who was very accurate in his satire of the Hobby Lobby decision, was wrong.
Kelly started off, dramatically, with "new dishonesty about contraception and the Supreme Court's decision in Hobby Lobby." She described the decision as "upholding religious rights" not to provide coverage for certain types of birth control." As in her other discussions on the decision, she didn't mention that the decision was expanded, on behalf of the Catholic Church, to include all birth control. She cited contraceptives "that can end a fertilized egg which some believe is abortion." After patting herself on the back for getting "Politifact" to correct something said by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, she blasted the Hobby Lobby decision critics: "This week some liberals are at it again, saying that decision was based on bad science — that the four forms of birth control in no way amount to abortion, because they do not end a fertilized egg, they just prevent conception in the first place."
She played video of Stewart: "One thing struck me about the decision. Hobby Lobby didn't want its employees' insurance to cover certain contraceptive methods such as Plan B, because they said that method caused abortions. The only problem with that is, is that it is not, uh, uh, what's the word I'm looking for, true." Kelly's was off and running with the "pro-life" talking points: "To be sure, these birth-control methods do not cause abortion like the ones performed at Planned Parenthood on a table. But they can and do end fertilized eggs — and to many, that is ending a life. Still, the left maintains that this is all bogus science, offering op-eds by doctors that conclude, at least, quote, 'three of these four contraceptives do not lead to abortion, even using the conservative definition of when life begins — namely, when an egg is fertilized.' So where on earth did that come from? Where did we get that notion?" After quoting from the prevailing SCOTUS decision and FDA material, submitted by HHS, that said that these contraceptives "may" prevent implantation, she asserted that "the science sounds pretty clear." She snarked about how the Justices should have "ignored" the science and "relied on agenda driven pundits." Her last statement was priceless in its irony: "Or perhaps these ideologues should think a bit more before trying so hard to mislead and divide us."
Credit to Kelly for a very clever spin. Notice that she framed the narrative around how "ending" fertilized eggs is considered, for some, to be an abortion when in reality, the science that she is invoking has determined that pregnancy begins at implantation of these fertilized eggs. No pregnancy - no abortion. Stewart was right. Kelly's argument, on behalf of "life" beginning at conception, is a theological "belief" that is embraced by Hobby Lobby and the men who made the Hobby Lobby decision. While the FDA has determined that the morning after pill "may" prevent implantation, the newest science disagrees.
Megyn Kelly thinks that liberals are trying to "mislead and divide us?"Talk about agenda driven ideology!
If you haven't seen the Stewart piece, check it out. It's definitely more informative that anything Megyn Kelly's "agenda driven" agitprop!