As the mouthpiece for those who don't believe in evolution and climate change, Fox News has absolutely no regard for science as it does tend to work against its radical, right wing agenda. One would hope, however, that even in the pursuit of propaganda, Fox would, at least, not make stuff up. But that is precisely what they have been doing with the ACA's birth control mandate. In supporting the Christian right's and the Catholic bishops opposition to the mandate, Fox has continuously *supported their view that emergency contraception causes abortions - a position that is based on theology and not medical science. Last week, Fox "news" woman Martha MacCallum, in discussing the Hobby Lobby case, advanced the lie. Tonight, on Bill O'Reilly's show, "truth detector" Megyn Kelly, for at least the third time, told the Fox News lie during her almost hysterical defense of Hobby Lobby.
Megyn Kelly told Jay Leno that she's "a straight news anchor." In a Washington Post profile, she claimed that she is "not a political person." But that she is either seriously delusional or just a pathological liar is clearly demonstrated by her ongoing support for the Fox/religious right/Catholic bishops opposition to the Affordable Care Act's birth control mandate which she described as a "religious liberty infringement." So it isn't surprising that Kelly wouldn't have a problem with today's SCOTUS decision which she discussed with Bill O'Reilly on tonight's Factor which was in full spin mode in defense of the decision which allows Hobby Lobby to, essentially, use their Christian belief system to discriminate against women. And in attempting to claim there's no war on women, Kelly, once again, lied when she made the unfounded claim that emergency contraception causes what the owners of Hobby Lobby and the Catholic Church consider to be an abortion - and medical science doesn't.
O'Reilly played video of Sandra Fluke stating that the SCOTUS decision was a way to "limit women's access to reproductive health care." O'Reilly has viciously slut shamed Fluke for her support for reproductive rights, a position which "traditional" Catholic (but divorced) O'Reilly finds highly objectionable. After the clip, he and Megyn Kelly mocked Fluke's comment. In considering the amount of times that Fox has lied about abortion drugs being part of the ACA, Kelly's next comment was priceless: "it doesn't matter how many times you say something, it doesn't matter if it's true, she says it over and over again and they're going to believe it. It's not true, don't believe it, she doesn't know what she's talking about." O'Reilly: "She doesn't care to know."
Kelly provided some background on the case and then began the big lie: "Those folks aren't going to have to provide abortion related drugs." Kelly, who isn't a doctor but who, apparently is playing on TV continued the big lie: "It's drugs that terminate an already fertilized egg." She explained that Hobby Lobby wasn't objecting to paying for other birth control pills but "they didn't want to fund those types of birth control that end a fertilized egg." Bill wanted to know why these women couldn't buy the drugs themselves.
Fox News covers contraception; but a nearly hysterical Kelly responded that for 20 years women have been buying their own birth control until the evil Kathleen Sebelius "went down to the basement" to write an evil regulation about covering 20 forms of birth control. (Uh, preventive care) Kelly, who has attacked Fluke in the past, accused her of playing the victim which is another lie because Fluke was speaking on behalf of those Georgetown students who, at the time, were denied contraception coverage offered to staff. Kelly continued the big lie when she said that Hobby Lobby was willing to cover birth control that didn't "destroy a fertilized egg." She screamed about how this is about Kathleen Sebelius's "minions" who are waging war on the religious right, not the war on women."
According to a Princeton website, "emergency contraceptive pills work before pregnancy begins. According to leading medical authorities – such as the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – pregnancy begins when the fertilized egg implants in the lining of a woman's uterus." The NY Times quotes Dr. Petra M. Casey, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Mayo: “These medications are there to prevent or delay ovulation. They don’t act after fertilization."
It's not Sandra Fluke who doesn't know what she's talking about. Or maybe, she doesn't want to know!?
But here’s the rub: Your employer’s “religious beliefs” are NOT allowed to trump your own. That’s a part of your CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. In fact, it’s absolutely ILLEGAL for an employer to ask you (or any other job applicant) about your religious beliefs. Check with the EEOC, if you have questions about that. Now, if you—as a potential job applicant—have “deeply held religious beliefs” that would potentially have a conflict with your job hours (eg, an observant Jew who cannot work between sunset Friday night and sunset Saturday night due to the Sabbath—unless he lives within walking distance) the company is required to accomodate your religious beliefs. If your beliefs mandate a separation between the sexes and you’re not allowed to deal with unrelated members of the opposite sex, then your employer wouldn’t be able to fire you over that but your beliefs would need to be accomodated as best as possible (perhaps by moving you to another department) but, at the same time, this would likely be a matter that should’ve come up in the interview.
BUT, this also works the other way. Your employer isn’t allowed to use HIS religious beliefs to force you into something that violates your civil rights or causes you to be treated differently than other employees. If HL doesn’t have a problem with male employees over 50 having access to Viagra or Cialis UNLESS they’re still married to the same woman they’ve been married to (unfortunately, a lot of 50+ men seem to be more interested in women much younger and who would be unlikely to get involved with such a man suffering from ED UNLESS they’re looking to start a family themselves), then it’s really none of HL’s business getting involved in their FEMALE employees’ sexual adventures.
Comment edited: Please avoid flaming and name calling.
NOTE TO KELLY
Shall we take a poll on how many so-called ‘Catholics’ have had abortions? Maybe you know a few yourself.