MSNBC Warns: Notre Dame is the 'Next Hobby Lobby'

In a piece discussing the University of Notre Dame’s policy on contraception, Irin Carmon of MSNBC.com revealed her unashamed support of government-mandated birth control and abortifacient drugs. And if the headline “This is the Next Hobby Lobby” wasn’t clear enough, the article barely mentioned opposition to Notre Dame’s decision to fight the contraception mandate. Aside from a few brief paragraphs on the Sycamore Trust, a conservative pro-life alumni group, the piece was extremely sympathetic to the pro-choice cause and dismissive of those who oppose the contraception mandate.

The article cited one student who lamented that “you couldn’t find a box of condoms anywhere” on campus. Carmon, using one student as an example, claimed that the university has stigmatized contraception entirely: “Even students who use birth control pills for non-contraceptive purposes say they have been stigmatized.”

Carmon led off by highlighting a 29-year old woman at Notre Dame who was unable to obtain an IUD because of the school’s “adherence to Catholic teaching against contraception.” MSNBC’s resident pro-abortion activist seemed to reject the validity of having a religious objection to providing contraception, almost laughing off the idea that the school believes “signing the opt-out form also violates their religious liberty, because eventually, contraception is dispensed.”

While Carmon did note that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wheaton College – who was in the middle of a similar lawsuit – saying they did not need to sign the controversial opt-out form, she asserted that the ruling “infuriated the female justices.” Towards the end of the article, Carmon tracked the legal trail that Notre Dame had followed on this issue over the last three years. It focused exclusively on cherry-picked quotes that made Notre Dame’s arguments look weak.

The MSNBC contributor then ended the piece by claiming that Notre Dame in the past had actually supported offering contraception. She cited “Conferences on Population” that the university held during the 1960's which “recommended government-funded family planning programs.”

Biased pro-abortion coverage and support for government-mandated contraception is nothing new from Carmon or MSNBC. However, the piece marginalized or completely ignored those who support the efforts of Notre Dame to oppose the contraception mandate.