Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Hobby Lobby is not telling women what to do with their bodies

Today the US Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in the HHS mandate case. At issue is whether private company owners should be forced to pay for contraception and abortifacients, as required by the mandate, even though doing so violates their deeply held religious beliefs.

I'm currently listening to the radio while I work, and every time a news break comes on, the news report goes to comments being made outside the Supreme Court today by interested citizens. They keep playing a track of this woman hysterically screaming that plaintiff "Hobby Lobby does not have the right to make my health decisions for me!"

Another man they let speak said the case is about "a few boardroom zealots who want to stand in the way of equality for everyone." And of course, the day wouldn't be complete without the standard cliche argument that I just now heard one woman scream about: "We are tired of politicians and bigots and now employers telling us what we can do with our bodies!!" I want to scream every time I hear these people's misinformed tantrums.

The truth is, neither Hobby Lobby nor the other plaintiff in the case, Conestoga Wood Specialties, are telling women they cannot take birth control or have an abortion. They are simply saying they don't want to be forced to pay for it because it violates their religious beliefs. If women want people to stay out of the decisions they make about their bodies, then they certainly have no right to tell people to pay for what they do with their bodies when it comes to personal choices that have nothing to do with healthcare.

The argument being heard today is whether corporations have religious rights, since they are ultimately run by individual American citizens who have guaranteed freedom of religion (not freedom of worship - there is a big difference between the two). The case is not about whether women who work for certain corporations are allowed to use contraception or have abortions. Nobody is saying they cannot do these things in the privacy of their own lives.

I wish these hysterical people being interviewed and all others not seeing the forest for the rage would realize what the actual issue is here.

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1 comment:

  1. Grace / Mt. ClemensMay 2, 2014 at 2:10 PM

    Amen. I love how women say keep your hands off my body, but i want you to pay for what i do with it. The day an employer says a woman is not allowed to work for them if she uses contraceptives, or that she cannot use contraceptives if she works for them, then maybe, just maybe they would have something to complain about (I say maybe because nobody is forcing her to work anywhere and i believe private companies should be allowed to set their own rules). but hobby lobby is saying employees are totally free to use contraceptives and have abortions. they just don't want to pay for them. what is the big controversy? besides, hobby lobby is paying for 16 of the 20 contraceptives forced by obamascare. they just object to the ones that end a pregnancy - e.g. a life. there is nothing about deliberately ending a life for the sake of ending a life that can be considered healthcare.

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