Executive Session

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, I rise today to set the record straight. Since the Supreme Court ruled on the Hobby Lobby case, a flood of misinformation has spread, distorting the true meaning of the Court's decision. We have seen a misrepresentation of the case, I think to divide the American people, and I find these scare tactics very disappointing.

It is time to move away from the overheated rhetoric and it is time for us to discuss the facts. The Washington Post Fact Checker has systematically rebutted a series of misleading claims from my friends on the other side of the aisle. The Fact Checker concluded that, ``Simply put, the court ruling does not outlaw contraceptives, does not allow bosses to prevent women from seeking birth control and does not take away a person's religious freedom.''

In other words, under this ruling, no boss has the right to tell an employee that they cannot use birth control. Nothing in the decision, nothing takes away women's access to birth control. All women continue to hold the constitutional right that was first articulated in Griswold v. Connecticut to use contraceptives. The Court's Hobby Lobby opinion reaffirms Griswold and unequivocally states, ``under our cases, women (and men) have a constitutional right to obtain contraceptives.'' Discrimination based on gender continues to be illegal. Employers may not punish, retaliate, or discriminate against women who choose to use contraception.

Moreover, current privacy laws prevent employers from even asking if an employee uses birth control.

The Court went on to state that its decision ``provides no such shield'' against discrimination in hiring. An employer cannot prohibit a woman from purchasing any form of contraception. Moreover, women can continue to have broad access to safe, affordable birth control.

Even before the Affordable Care Act was passed, 28 States already had laws or regulations on the books to provide for contraceptive coverage. Over 85 percent of large businesses provide contraceptive coverage for their employees. For women without such coverage, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers five separate programs to ensure affordable access to contraception, including Medicaid.

The bottom line: All women continue to have the ability to purchase or use a wide variety of contraceptives. It is both possible to stand tall for the principle of religious freedom and also to support safe access to birth control. The two are not mutually exclusive. The issue in Hobby Lobby is not whether women can purchase birth control, it is who pays for what. Those of us who believe that life begins at conception have moral objections to devices or procedures that destroy fertilized embryos.

The Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby, have similar objections. They do not want to use their money to violate their religious beliefs. I think most Americans would believe that is reasonable. In fact, the Greens offered health coverage that pays for 16 out of 20 forms of contraception, including birth control pills.

The Court narrowly ruled that the Green family's decision was protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill led by Democrats and passed with overwhelming support by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The bill requires the government to show a high level of proof before it can interfere with the free exercise of religion. The Court ruled that in this case the government failed to meet that burden. Accordingly, it could not abridge the Green family's legitimate religious views.

While not all Americans share these particular views, I do believe all Americans understand the importance of preserving religious liberty. Indeed, our Nation was largely founded by men and women seeking that religious freedom. The Court's decision was a narrow one, applying only to closely held, mostly family-owned companies. Some have suggested the ruling could open the door to objections over blood transfusions or vaccines. We heard similar fears when the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed over 20 years ago. None of those fears have been realized.

Finally, I would like to state my strong support for the legislation I introduced with Senator Kelly Ayotte and Senator Mitch McConnell that reaffirms the dual principles of religious freedom and safe access to contraception for all women.

Rather than seeking to divide Americans, our legislation brings people together around ideas that we all can support. I would especially like to commend Senator Ayotte for her strong leadership on this issue. I have enjoyed working with her to push back against those misleading claims about the Hobby Lobby ruling and ensuring that women across America know the truth.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source