Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
appeared on MSNBC this week to discuss her objections to the challenge Hobby Lobby has leveled against the United States government’s contraception mandate in Obamacare.
Boxer made several baseless claims during the interview, which deserve to be put into a broader political context.
Before discussing Boxer's claims, due credit must be given to the MSNBC anchor, Chris Jansing, who drew attention to the fact that Hobby Lobby provides its employees with all sorts of contraceptives through its health plan (16 to be exact), but that the store’s ownership objects to 4 drugs in particular. Among them, Hobby Lobby objects to pills like Plan B — also known as the Morning After pill— and Intrauterine Devices (IUDs), because they have the potential to be "abortion-inducing." In other words, they can terminate a pregnancy after the egg has been fertilized.
In response to this very legitimate distinction, Boxer proclaims, “that’s a distinction without a difference.”
Perhaps Boxer knows better than the companies who offer these drugs, but I doubt it. Indeed, while Plan B
claims to have no effect on a woman who is already pregnant, it qualifies this by saying “there is no medical evidence that Plan B One-Step would harm a developing baby.”
It is important to note that “no medical evidence” does not mean there is no possibility. Moreover, Plan-B does not assert that their position is medically conclusive. Thus, Hobby Lobby’s position that it is an abortifacient (an abortion causing drug) is a reasonable one.
Beyond Plan B, however, Hobby Lobby also objects to providing IUDs. Unlike Plan B,
there is medical evidence IUDs cause abortion after an egg has been fertilized. Indeed, that’s
the exact language used to describe how they function.
