Ted Cruz Calls Birth Control 'Abortifacients'

Submitted by JAC on Fri, 10/11/2013 - 9:30am

While addressing the conservative Value Voter Summit, Senator Ted Cruz conflated birth control with abortion-inducing medication, a common erroneous talking point for the anti-choice proponents.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Friday repeated the misguided conservative talking point that the birth control coverage rule included in Obamacare forces employers to cover abortion-inducing pills.

Cruz told the crowd at the 2013 Values Voter Summit that the Obama administration is forcing Christian-owned businesses like Hobby Lobby to provide "abortifacients" or pay millions of dollars in fees. Hobby Lobby is one of several religious-owned businesses currently suing the administration over its requirement that most employers include contraception coverage in their health insurance plans.

The Affordable Care Act requires most employers to cover birth control, including emergency contraception -- also known as the morning-after pill or Plan B -- in their health insurance plans. But employers are not required to cover RU-486, an abortion-inducing medication that is sometimes confused with emergency contraception.

Watch the speech - the contraception claim begins at 2:33.