Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa.\u00a0. . .\u00a0provides a classic example of how deliberate, defensive ignorance works. Confronted with facts correcting his preferred misapprehension, he doesn\u2019t just challenge those facts \u2014 Murphy challenges the possibility of\u00a0any facts at all<\/em>. Murphy denies that there is any such thing as objective\u00a0reality<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 only competing religious assertions:<\/p>\nSEBELIUS: There also is no abortifacient drug that is part of the FDA-approved contraception. What the rule for preventive care \u2026<\/em><\/p>\nMURPHY: Ma\u2019am that is not true. \u2026 Is the morning after pill or something like that an abortifacient drug?<\/em><\/p>\nSEBELIUS: It is a contraceptive drug, not an abortifacient. It does not interfere with a pregnancy. If the morning pill were taken, and a female were pregnant, the pregnancy is not interrupted. That\u2019s the definition of abortifacient.<\/em><\/p>\nMURPHY: Ma\u2019am that is your interpretation, and I appreciate that\u2019s your interpretation.<\/em><\/p>\nSEBELIUS: That\u2019s what the scientists and doctors \u2026<\/em><\/p>\nMURPHY: We\u2019re not talking about scientists! Ma\u2019am we\u2019re not talking about scientists here, we\u2019re talking about religious belief.<\/em><\/p>\nHHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defines \u201cabortifacient\u201d as having the effect of interrupting a pregnancy. Murphy doesn\u2019t like that definition. Why? Because he desperately wants to believe that hormonal contraception is a baby-killing abortion drug that he can thus condemn loose women for using. So Murphy redefines the word \u201cabortifacient\u201d to mean, roughly, whatever \u201creligious\u201d believers want to pretend it means.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a coincidence that Murphy\u2019s views on contraception precisely parallel his party\u2019s views on climate change. You think\u00a0carbon traps heat?<\/em>\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s your interpretation. But we\u2019re not talking about scientists here, we\u2019re talking about religious belief.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nEven when I was an evangelical, I believed in facts. I did think the birth control pill was an abortifacient, but I believed that because I honestly thought that\u2019s what the facts showed. Had I taken the time to examine the facts \u2013 and done so without privileging biased sources \u2013 I would have changed my view. I say that because that\u2019s what happened when I honestly examined creationism in college.<\/p>\n
I understand holding an incorrect belief because you trust bad sources. That\u2019s why my parents believe the pill is an abortifacient. What I don\u2019t<\/em> understand is saying the facts are irrelevant and that all that matters is what you believe<\/em> about an issue. I never<\/em> would have said that, even at my most devout.<\/p>\nYour thoughts? Is there something going on here that I\u2019m missing?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I recently read an interesting post\u00a0on the Slactivist regarding the current debates about and ignorance of contraception: Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa.\u00a0. . .\u00a0provides a classic example of how deliberate, defensive ignorance works. Confronted with facts correcting his preferred misapprehension, he doesn\u2019t just challenge those facts \u2014 Murphy challenges the possibility of\u00a0any facts at all. Murphy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n
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