Catholics for Choice/Coalition for Liberty & Justice

More than 40 Coalition for Liberty & Justice Member Organizations Urge Supreme Court to Reject Challenges to Contraceptive Coverage

As the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments from Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., 44 members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, a broad alliance of faith-based, secular and other national organizations, endorsed the statement below in support of real religious liberty for all. If you would like to contact any of the coalition members, please see the media contact list following the statement.

On March 25, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in lawsuits brought by Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a national arts-and-crafts chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., a cabinet manufacturer. The cases challenge the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurance plans include coverage for contraception with no co-pay, which was designed to advance women’s health and equality. We, the undersigned members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, express our support for the right of all workers and their dependents to access contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act and to make personal decisions about using contraception based on their own beliefs. We oppose the corporations’ attempts to invoke their owners’ religious beliefs to undermine women’s health and equality and interfere in their personal decision-making. Corporations should not be permitted to impose religious views on their employees. 

We represent a diverse cross-section of communities, including faith-based and secular groups as well as those dedicated to LGBT rights, women’s rights, separation of church and state, civil rights and reproductive rights and justice. We are united in our belief that public policies should both respect religious liberty and protect against the use of religious beliefs to discriminate or undermine equality. We believe that true religious liberty respects individuals, supports the common good and reflects the foundational principles of our nation.

We therefore strongly support the rights of female workers and their dependents to follow their consciences, moral codes and beliefs when making a decision about contraception and oppose the plaintiffs’ attempts to interfere in this personal decision-making. We hope the Supreme Court will reject the corporations’ challenges to the contraceptive coverage regulations.

Signed,

Americans for Religious Liberty
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Call To Action
Catholics for Choice
Center for Inquiry
Center for Reproductive Rights
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Concerned Clergy for Choice
CORPUS
DignityUSA
Faith Aloud
GetEQUAL Action
Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc.
Human Rights Campaign
Ibis Reproductive Health
Institute for Science and Human Values
Interfaith Alliance
Keshet
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
Medical Students for Choice
Metropolitan Community Churches Public Policy Team
MergerWatch
Methodist Federation for Social Action
Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
Muslims for Progressive Values
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Women's Organizations
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation
National Women's Health Network
Nehirim
New Ways Ministry
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Religious Institute
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
Secular Coalition for America
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.
Society for Humanistic Judaism
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
Women's League for Conservative Judaism


Full page ad in the Washington Post, March 25, 2014

NARAL Pro-Choice America

CONTACT:

Samantha Gordon
Christina DiPasquale
Anna Zuccaro

TODAY: NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue to Address Supreme Court Rally at Noon

Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue will address the “Not My Boss’s Business” rally at the Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in two cases brought by bosses at for-profit corporations to challenge the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers provide coverage for contraception as part of an employee’s health plan.

Hogue will take part in a religious processional from service at Lutheran Church of the Reformation at about 8:40 a.m., arriving at the steps of the Supreme Court at about 9:00 a.m.

At approximately noon, Hogue will speak at the podium with other reproductive rights leaders and will continue to be available to press at the rally until 1 p.m.

Said Hogue:

“The case before the Supreme Court is about one thing: can bosses extend their reach beyond the boardroom and into the bedrooms of their employees. This case could set a dangerous precedent that allows bosses near unlimited control over the lives of their employees.  We value religious liberty, but the right to practice religion freely does not include the right to impose religion on others. 

“Our message is clear: It is offensive, out of touch and out of bounds for bosses to make birth control decisions for their employees.”

The cases, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, could jeopardize access to affordable birth control for millions of women. It could also set a dangerous precedent that will spark more Arizona-style  discrimination bills and other lawsuits by businesses to deny employees and customers health benefits and others services they are entitled to under the law, all based on the business owners’ beliefs. Personal medical decisions should be between a woman and her doctor, not her boss.

After decades of discriminatory coverage by insurance companies, the birth control benefit requires all new insurance policies to cover birth control with no out-of-pocket cost to women — because it’s part of preventive care.  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, twenty-seven million women nationally are already eligible for this benefit. When the law is fully implemented,47 million women nationally women will have access to no-copay birth control thanks to the Affordable Care Act. 

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Planned Parenthood Action Fund on Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp v. Sebelius

As For-Profit Corporations Take Out-of-Touch Views on Birth Control Benefit before Nation’s Highest Court, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Speaks Out for Women, Workers

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, as hundreds of supporters of women’s health and rights gathered outside in the snow for a “Not My Boss’s Business” rally, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases by bosses at for-profit corporations seeking to deny their employees coverage for no-copay birth control, based on their own personal beliefs. These bosses have views that are far outside the mainstream, with apoll out yesterday showing that more than two in three (68%) women voters say that corporations should not be able to exempt themselves from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer health plans cover prescription birth control.

Statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Today, corporate bosses who want to take away their employees’ access to birth control stepped far beyond the boardroom, taking their extreme views all the way to the nation’s highest court. Their arguments against birth control are way outside the mainstream, and a ruling in their favorcould have far-reaching consequences by letting companies refuse services, discriminate, or deny health care to millions of people.  What we saw today was the importance of having women on the Supreme Court, with the three female justices raising important questions about women’s health and rights.

“Bosses and politicians shouldn’t interfere in women’s personal health care decisions. That’s what this case is about.

“Birth control is only a ‘social issue’ if you’ve never had to pay for it. For women, birth control is preventive health care and it is also an economic concern. Today, the Supreme Court heard a strong argument for why it’s in the country’s interests to ensure that more women have access to the type of birth control that works best for them – and a strong case against radically redefining how we balance and protect everyone’s rights in this country.

“Planned Parenthood health care providers across the country see the benefits of affordable birth control every day. Before this benefit went into effect, our doctors and nurses regularly heard from women who were forced to choose between groceries or filling their prescription – between paying the rent or choosing the form of birth control that’s right for them. No matter what the Court decides, Planned Parenthood health centers are going to continue to provide health care to nearly three million patients each year – and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund is going to fight for the right of every woman to make her own decisions about her own health, no matter where she works or how much money she makes.”

The cases before the Supreme Court, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, could jeopardize access to affordable birth control for millions of women. They could also set a dangerous precedent, sparking more Arizona-style discrimination bills and lawsuits by other businesses seeking to deny employees and customers the health benefits and other services they are entitled to under the law, all based on the business owners’ personal beliefs. These corporations wrongly believe emergency contraception is a form of abortion — further illustrating why health care decisions should be between a woman and her doctor, without the involvement of her boss.

  • You can watch a 2-min animated whiteboard video with Cecile Richards breaking down the health and economic benefits of birth control and the high stakes of the cases here: http://bit.ly/1gA6Nos 
  • You can read 50 supporter stories from across the United States in the “Birth Control: We All Benefit” booklet here: http://bit.ly/1elblms
  • You can read a White Paper on the Hobby Lobby case here: http://bit.ly/1aw9sUx  

BACKGROUND

After decades of discriminatory coverage by insurance companies, the birth control benefit requires all insurance policies to cover birth control with no out-of-pocket cost to women — rightly categorizing birth control as part of women’s basic preventive care.  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 27 million women nationally are already eligible for this benefit. When the law is fully implemented, 47 million women nationally will have access to no-copay birth control thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Birth control is tremendously important to women for all kinds of reasons, including the need to control certain medical conditions and to plan our families. Under the birth control benefit, women have access to this important preventive care at no cost.

  • The wide availability of birth control has been an enormous benefit for countless women and their families — enabling them to support themselves financially, complete their education, and plan their families and have children when they’re ready.
  • Virtually all (99 percent) American women between the ages of 15-44 who are sexually active have used birth control at some time.
  • For many women, birth control is used for a host of health care reasons. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 58 percent of birth control pill users cite health benefits as a contributing factor for using the birth control pill, including treating endometriosis, menstrual pain, and menstrual regulation.
  • Seven in ten Americans believe that health insurance companies should be required to cover the full cost of birth control, just as they do for other preventive services.

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.

Democratic National Committee 

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Statement on Contraception Benefit Cases

 
Washington, DC – As the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments today in the cases of Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:
 
“No woman should have her access to contraception cut off based on her boss’ opinion. An overwhelming majority of American women use contraception to stay healthy and plan their families, and it should be treated like any other preventive care. The overall goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make quality health care affordable and accessible for all Americans, no matter where you work or what your gender.
 
“A rejection of the contraception benefit would only take us back in time, crippling the progress we've made in the four years since the Affordable Care Act became law. As Democrats, we respect the right of all Americans to exercise their religion, but we do not believe that for-profit employers should have the right to impose their religious beliefs on their employees. These groups and the Republicans who support them are on the wrong side of the issues that are most important to women. From opposing equal pay legislation, to delaying reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, to insisting politicians make medical decisions that belong between a woman and her doctor, the GOP’s agenda is as out of touch as ever.”
 
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