Texas Responds to Hobby Lobby Contraception Case

[TexasTowelie]

This morning, the United States Supreme Court ruled that family-owned businesses like Hobby Lobby can decide to not provide contraception through their health insurance if it does not fit their religious beliefs. Now advocates for reproductive rights in Texas are condemning the decision.

While the original suit was filed outside of Texas, this state has been ground zero for the reproductive rights battle. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, fired back:

"Today's disappointing decision to restrict access to birth control puts employers between women and their doctors. We need to trust women to make their own healthcare decisions – not corporations, the Supreme Court, or (Attorney General) Greg Abbott."

Unsurprisingly, her Republican challenger for the governor's mansion was far more supportive of the SCOTUS decision:

“Today’s ruling is a major victory for religious freedom and another blow to the heavy-handed way the Obama Administration has tried to force the misguided Obamacare law on Americans. Once again, the Supreme Court has stricken down an overreaching regulation by the Obama Administration—and once again Obamacare has proven to be an illegal intrusion into the lives of so many Americans across the country.”

Yvonne Gutierrez, executive director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, positively rolled her eyes at his glee over the ruling.

"It’s unbelievable that we are still fighting for access to birth control in 2014. And simply preposterous that Greg Abbott would state that limiting access to birth control is 'protecting life.' Texas women have already suffered numerous clinic closures and loss of access to basic care, including birth control. But Greg Abbott wants to see their access to health care limited even more."

More at http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-06-30/texas-responds-to-hobby-lobby-contraception-case/ .