4 Ways Supreme Court Ruling on Idea of Religious Freedom for Corporations Could Be Disastrous

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/4-ways-hobby-lobby-ruling-could-be-disastrous-americans



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1) License to discriminate can harm the LGBT community. The Hobby Lobby case, in conjunction with recent efforts to legalize discrimination, have caused many LGBT and women's rights groups to become particularly vigilant. Last month, the Arizona state Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 1062, which would allow businesses to reject service to any customer based on the owners’ religious beliefs. Though Gov. Janet Brewer vetoed the bill, many organizations worry that bills like this will continue to surface.


2) Employers' religious views can dictate healthcare beyond birth control. Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications at Planned Parenthood, says these efforts to legalize discrimination are all “cut from the same cloth. “The root of it is that folks who want to discriminate are finding new ways to do that,” he says. He feels the case is not simply about birth control, but healthcare in general.

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3) Negative impact on the quality of life for women and families. Levin points out that 99 percent of women use birth control and that it is crucial to gender equality because it allows women to participate in education. Not only can the case have detrimental effects on reproductive heath, it can negatively affect the overall quality of life for women and families.

4) Setting a precedent that opens the door to many other forms of discrimination. “The Hobby Lobby case will affect millions of women. That by itself is cause for serious alarm,” says Eric Ferrero. “It's a slippery slope of discrimination. A decision can have very far reaching consequences. It could allow companies to discriminate against a wide range of people. Anybody who they could claim to have moral disapproval of without having to substantiate it. These are beyond retro views about the role of women in society. It gives a peek at how these folks are trying to move the clock back. The National Women's Law Center provided an amicus brief that lays bare what the agenda is. I'm surprised that not many people have picked up on that.”

[LuvNewcastle]

1. "Levin points out that 99 percent of women use birth control..."

Is there any other drug that is taken by such a large number of women? It should be clear to everyone by now that this is more of a women's health issue than anything else. The birth control benefit of the pill is just one function that the pill does. How could we have insurance for women that doesn't include paying for the pill? It's outrageous that anyone would even think of taking away that requirement for the insurance companies. The pill is part of just plain, basic care for women.