Fox Host Recycles Myth That Zubik v. Burwell Is About Abortion

Sandra Smith: “Groups Don't Want To Cover Types Of Birth Control That Constitute As Abortion”

Written by Media Matters Staff

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Fox News host Sandra Smith claimed that groups behind the Supreme Court case Zubik v. Burwell were fighting so they wouldn’t have to “cover types of birth control that constitute as abortion,” a myth repeatedly recycled by right-wing media. On May 16, the Supreme Court's review of the case resulted in an unsigned per curiam opinion, remanding the lawsuit back to a federal appeals court for further consideration. Smith’s promotion of the argument that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraception mandate forces religious groups to provide forms of contraception they consider to be abortifacients ignores the fact that medical experts have clarified that these forms of contraception “do not interrupt established pregnancy” and are not “abortifacient.” From the May 17 edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered:

SANDRA SMITH (CO-HOST): So, Kennedy, can you kind of lay out the differences that we're looking at here? Little Sisters of the Poor doesn't want to be responsible for covering any birth control in line with Catholic doctrine. Other groups don't want to cover types of birth control that constitute as abortion which there are a couple of.



LISA KENNEDY MONTGOMERY (CO-HOST): I mean, what happened to liberty in this country? Not just religious liberty which is, a critical tenet of this case but liberty in general? Economic liberty. You touched on that. I side for the free market and for the nuns. The government shouldn't be forcing them at gun point, and that’s essentially what coercion is. That’s essentially what this healthcare law does. It forces you to make decisions you are morally opposed to where the government shouldn't be intruding, but my question to you is who has greater cause for celebration because of this?