On the face of it, this seems like an outrageous claim. But it is true. The outrage is what the government is demanding Americans do.
The Affordable Care Act -- aka Obamacare -- includes a "requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage." The main part of this "requirement" says: "An applicable individual shall for each month beginning after 2013 ensure that the individual, and any dependent of the individual who is an applicable individual, is covered under minimum essential coverage for such month."
The IRS has explained: "The provision applies to individuals of all ages, including children. The adult or married couple who can claim a child or another individual as a dependent for federal income tax purposes is responsible for making the [penalty] payment if the dependent does not have coverage or an exemption."
Bottom line: Parents "shall" buy health insurance for their dependent children.
The Affordable Care Act says: "A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall at a minimum provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost sharing requirements for ... with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings ... as provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration."
These comprehensive guidelines mandate copay free coverage for: "All Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity." The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says women attain reproductive capacity between ages 12 and 13.
Bottom line: Parents must buy health insurance for their dependent children that, without copay, covers all FDA-approved "contraceptive methods" for all women who can conceive a child.
When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit issued its opinion in the case of Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, it said: "Four of the twenty [FDA-]approved methods -- two types of intrauterine devices (IUDs) and the emergency contraceptives commonly known as Plan B and Ella -- can function by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg."
The court said in a footnote: "Both the government and the medical amici supporting the government concede that at least some of the contraceptive methods to which the plaintiffs object have the potential to prevent uterine implantation."
When the Obama administration petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the Hobby Lobby case, it said in its petition: "An IUD is a device inserted into the uterus by a physician that ... 'may prevent the egg from attaching (implanting) in the womb (uterus).'"
"Plan B, an emergency contraceptive," the administration told the court, "is a pill that ... may also work ... by preventing attachment (implantation) to the womb (uterus).'"
"Ella, another emergency contraceptive," the administration told the court, "'may also work by changing the lining of the womb (uterus) that may prevent attachment (implantation).'"
What is a "fertilized egg?"
The federal government's National Library of Medicine -- a part of the National Institutes of Health -- maintains a Web page entitled, "Fetal Health and Development." It links to a publication of The American Academy of Family Physicians, which is entitled, "Your Baby's Development: The First Trimester."
The first question on this fact sheet: "When does pregnancy begin?" The answer: "Pregnancy begins when a sperm fertilizes a woman's egg."
The second question: "What happens after the sperm fertilizes the egg?" The answer: "After conception, your baby begins a period of dramatic change known as the embryonic stage."
In 2012, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an opinion advocating IUD or hormonal implants for teenage girls.
"In 21 states, all teenagers can get contraceptives without parental permission, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks laws affecting women's health," said an Associated Press report on the ACOG opinion.
"The IUD and implant cost hundreds of dollars," said the report. "The new health reform law requires health insurance plans to cover birth control without copayments."
And it requires moms and dads to buy insurance for their own teenage children that will pay to kill a fertilized egg -- or, as The American Academy of Family Physicians calls it, a baby.