In its attempt to “debunk” the claim that an abortion drug is included in the “preventive services” mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Media Matters ignores a glaring fact: ella – a drug that is chemically similar to the FDA-approved abortion drug RU-486 – is included in the mandate.

Unlike Plan B, which is a progestin-based drug, ella is – just like RU-486 – a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM). This means that though indicated as “contraception,” ella works the same way as RU-486, not Plan B.[1] By blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary to build and maintain the uterine wall, ella and RU-486 can kill an already-implanted human embryo.

Put another way - ella can abort a pregnancy, no matter whose definition of “pregnancy” is used...