Pingree to Sponsor Bill to Reverse Hobby Lobby Decision

Press Release

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is cosponsoring a bill that would reverse the dangerous Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case. The decision allows corporations to claim religious views as a reason to deny women coverage for contraception and other forms of reproductive health.

"Decisions about women's health should be left to women, and not their bosses," Pingree said. "The Supreme Court was wrong to allow the CEO of a corporation to use his personal beliefs to block the coverage of something as basic as birth control. Almost all women use birth control at some point in their lives and preventative health care for women should not be a controversial issue. I hope Republican leaders in the House let us vote on this bill."

The bill, the Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference Act of 2014, would keep in place protections for genuinely religious institutions, like churches and synagogues, while restoring the mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires other employers to provide preventative reproductive health coverage.

Since the ACA became law, women in the U.S. have saved $483 million on birth control and 30 million women are now eligible for birth control without a copay.

"If we allow for-profit corporations to deny coverage of birth control because of their beliefs, it's only a matter of time before some employers attempt to refuse coverage of other vital services like immunizations, blood transfusions, and HIV treatment all in the name of religion," Pingree said.

Source