As the mouthpiece for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Fox News has steadfastly validated the Catholic Church's opposition to the HHS mandate which requires all employers, with the exception of churches, to provide birth control coverage (as well as a wide range of women's healthcare services) in their employee insurance plans. But the Catholic Church believes that emergency contraception, covered under the law, is an abortion drug. Thus, Fox News has validated, on *many occasions, this lie as well as the lie that the law covers actual abortion inducing drugs. The bishops and an order of nuns have filed lawsuits to avoid compliance with the law. The nuns were just given a temporary exemption. This latest development was discussed on this morning's America's Newsroom where right wing columnist Stephen Hayes advanced, once again, the lie that the mandate includes "abortifacients." Good conservative Catholic and alleged "news" anchor, Bill Hemmer, didn't set the record straight.
In explaining the background to the court decision, Hayes took a page straight out of the bishop's playbook. (Hemmer didn't mention that Hayes writes for the Murdoch owned Weekly Standard). Soldier of Christ Hemmer dramatically described how the nuns are saying that this policy "not only violates our religious beliefs but if we do not do it and adhere to the law we will suffer fines that will cause us to go bankrupt." Hayes explained that the Obama administration had formulated a compromise, with religious groups, that would allow the entities "to certify that they weren't providing, actually providing this contraceptive and ABORTIFACIENT coverage" but because the insurance company is doing this on behalf of the employer, the argument is that the employer is giving permission for these "types of contraception and ABORTIFACIENTS for our employees."
It's hard to believe that Hemmer is so stupid that he doesn't know, by this point, why the administration is requiring contraception coverage, yet he asked Hayes why the administration felt it was necessary to include the birth control mandate. Hayes said that Obama believes that the government should be in the business of covering all of women's health and that is to include birth control, other contraceptives and these ABORTIFACIENTS." In a shout out to the Fox anti-choice audience, he speculated that Obama would like to pay for abortions, too. Hayes also speculated that the administration doesn't have a good case with this lawsuit and others because - wait for it - religious freedom.
One more time - Emergency contraception does not cause abortions and abortion inducing drugs are not covered under the ACA. But for the "fair & balanced" Fox "News," truth becomes a casualty in the anti-Obama propaganda war. And BTW, if bachelor Hemmer ever marries, his wife will get her birth control courtesy of Fox News. Oh, no....Is Fox aiding and abetting sin and baby killing...!!!!
