[ad_1]
Kavanaugh's supporters quickly responded by saying that he summed up the argument of a religious group challenging the so-called contraceptive warrant under the Affordable Care Act.
The controversy arose while Kavanaugh was discussing a case concerning the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Government regulation required all employers to provide their employees with health insurance covering all types of FDA-approved contraceptives, including birth control pills, IUDs, and hormonal injections.
The protest was introduced by a religious group claiming that it was obliged to provide medical coverage for contraceptives despite its religious objections. The group, Priests for Life, said the "religious accommodation" provided by the Department of Health and Social Services was inadequate. Priests for Life said that complying with the accommodation made the group complicit in something that went against his religious beliefs.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, questioned Kavanaugh on Thursday about the case, which was presented to him at the DC circuit.
"It was a group that was forced to provide some type of health coverage for its religious objections to its employees." And under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the question was first, was it a Substantial burden for religious exercise – for me very clearly it was, "Kavanaugh said.
"It was a technical question to fill out a form in this case," he added. "In this case, they stated that completing the form would make them complicit in the provision of the abortion-causing drugs to which they were, religiously, objected."
None of the senators present at the hearing questioned the sentence at the time.
In a press release, however, Planned Parenthood drew attention to the exchange but left out the words "they said," giving the impression that Kavanaugh was speaking for himself.
Beth Lynk, a spokesperson for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, acknowledged the mistake, but still disputed the fact that she said Kavanaugh had misinterpreted the case and used a controversial term used by groups opposed to abortion.
"The argument of Priest's lawyers for life was that they opposed any birth control," she said. In Kavanaugh's testimony, his description of their objection characterized all types of birth control as "abortion-causing drugs."
"In looking for a term to describe all types of birth control, the word that he chose was" abortion-causing drugs, "" she said.
Planned Parenthood and groups like the American College of Obstetricians and challenge the concept and formulation that an IUD causes abortion because it does not allow the implantation of a fertilized egg.
"Saying" abortion-inducing drugs "to describe contraception is straight out of the anti-scientific and anti-scientific vocabulary book used to restrict women's access to essential health care, said Thursday. the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Travis Lenker, a former Kavanaugh clerk who attended hearings this week, defended the Supreme Court candidate, claiming his language was an accurate summary of the group's position.
"Judge Kavanaugh clearly described the arguments of the parties in this case, without exposing his own opinions," Lenker said. "That's why he used the words" they said "the words that are conveniently omitted from the quote raised out of context".
"By regulation, this insurance must cover all FDA-approved contraceptives, including some contraceptive methods that some say are functioning as abortifacients and result in the destruction of embryos," he wrote then.
In a line of dissent that has sparked some conservative criticism, Kavanaugh also wrote that the Supreme Court precedent "strongly suggests that the government has an undeniable interest in facilitating access to contraception for employees of these religious organizations. ".
Kavanaugh, 53, was named to the Supreme Court by Trump in July to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has voted on abortion-related cases in the past. If it is confirmed, it could establish a conservative majority on the country's highest court for decades.
Clare Foran and Joan Biskupic of CNN contributed to this report.
[ad_2]Source link
