Ohio's religious exemption applies only to abortion procedures and does not mention contraception, as do some current proposals pending in state legislatures. Brauer is being represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, founded a decade ago by Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition. The possible far-reaching ramifications of the case became apparent when Judge Weber ruled that the case could proceed. His 22-page opinion extends religious exemptions on abortion to both birth control pills and to the activities of a pharmacist. It also does not rely on the standard medical definition of pregnancy as beginning with the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterine wall and instead defines it as when the union of sperm and egg occurs.
Implantation usually occurs about six days after fertilization.
Anti-choice publications and Web sites are calling the decision a legal victory. Frances Manion, Midwest counsel to the American Center for Law and Justice, dismisses consumer concerns about access to contraception. What we're talking about are drugs that are designed to prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum. This drug has a major mechanism that is abortifacient. Medical experts disagree on all counts.