It’s been made startlingly clear this week that U.S. Supreme Court justices are playing politics with the health and well-being of women. The Court’s recent rulings have curtailed women’s rights to enter health centers without harassment and hindered affordable -access to the most effective birth control methods.
If you were wondering whether we can trust this Supreme Court to dispense justice without ideology, you have your answer.
Last week’s decision that it is unconstitutional to prevent protesters from coming within 35-foot “buffer zones” around health centers was bad enough. But the June 30 ruling that allows closely held corporations such as Hobby Lobby, which has thousands of employees,to deny employees contraceptive benefits based on the religious objections of the few who own the company, is strong evidence that women’s health care choices will continue to be subject todiscrimination and regulation by the highest court in the land.
And reproductive health rights weren’t the only liberties restricted by this decision. The Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling is also anti-worker, and we should all be paying attention to its far reaching implications.
The fact is that many closely held companies, with few shareholders, are not just “mom and pop” operations. Many, such as Dell, Cargill and Heinz, are household names. What happens if companies of that size and scope decide to be exempt from the Obamacare mandate that employers fully cover a variety of contraceptives?
The Hobby Lobby ruling is not only an affront to women’s reproductive-health rights , it is also essentially granting more “human rights” to private companies and allowing the companies’ supposed “religious rights” to trump the health needs of the flesh-and-blood humans who work for them. This is an outrageous affront to all workers.
Fortunately, some states, including California, long –ago adopted the “contraceptive equity act” which remains in force despite this Supreme Court decision. The equity act means that employers must continue to provide contraceptive coverage in their plans and that health plans sold on Covered California must continue to include contraceptive coverage.
However, there is no protection for workers who may be touched by the broader implications of the Court’s decision, while the “beliefs” of corporations are protected. This may be the best reason yet to get to the ballot box during off-year elections and vote for candidates who will champion laws and policies that promote real justice for everyone – and not just protections for the powerful few.
Lupe Rodriguez is Public Affairs director for the Silicon Valley region of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, headquartered in San Jose. She is also chair of the Santa Clara County Commission on Women.
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