BY: Tyler Harris
In the news, there has been much noise regarding the
ongoing legal disputes in the United States Supreme Court. At the center of the
ongoing legal disputes are Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood
Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, case that are challenging the Affordable Care
Act’s policy on contraception.
According to the Federal Care Act, birth control is
rightfully considered routine preventative care, making it available without
copays and is covered by insurance. The basis of the case is that Hobby Lobby,
a chain store owned by a Christian conservative, opposes contraception religiously
and therefore feel the private, for-profit corporation should be able to oppose
it as well. The corporation, owned by Steve Green, also considers birth control
to be equivalent to abortion.[1]
Corporations should have no right to enforce
religious views on their employees, excluding churches of course. The argument
for the case is that corporations are people, and it is covered under free-speech
rights. Although corporations are legally considered people in law, this does
not mean that we can step back and let the ideologies of owners be forced on workers.
[2]
Customers have the choice whether or not to shop at
a corporation based on their religious views. If they do not support the views
of a company, they can choose not to shop there and can go to another place.
Employees, however, are much different. They cannot freely choose jobs as
easily, and some have no choice but to work. It only makes sense to have basic
human rights laws protecting them federally.
It is surprising for me that the fight over
contraception is even occurring in 2014. The average American woman has two
children, and spends over thirty years trying to prevent extra pregnancies.
Currently, 62% of all women of reproductive age are currently using
contraception. Almost 70% (43 million) of all women are at risk of unintended
pregnancy. [3] The American lifestyle is based around contraception; not having
it could indirectly lead to things such as increased birthrates and poverty,
wreaking havoc on the economy and our way of life.
If the Supreme Court allows this, who is to say that
a business could also exclude mental healthcare, HIV tests, vaccines, or any
other area of health care that they feel is morally wrong. There is already a
push to federal ban sexuality workplace discrimination. This is a huge
backwards step when it comes to rights of a worker overall.
Taking a look back, birth control was mainly condoms
for men before the Industrial Revolution. Abortion inducing herbs were used and
inserted into a women’s vagina to kill sperm. Rubber vulcanization was invented
in 1839 and eventually led to an explosion of the contraceptive industry
producing condoms. When these devices were banned by the Comstock Act,
dangerous and illegal alternatives for women contraceptive started to
circulate, including Lysol disinfectants. When condoms were legal again in
1918, the U.S. birth rate dropped by half by 1920. [4]
The evidence in the past show that people will
always opt for contraception use when available. Contraception and low birth
rate is one of the factors dividing us between a first world and a third world
country. Today we live in a country where half of all pregnancies are
unintended. Why do we want to increase the burden on these families? Something
so integral to a woman’s life should be allowed and taken under the privacy of
that woman, and it is something that the corporation she works for has no
business of. The justices will hear the case in the spring and a ruling can be
expected this summer.
Footnotes:
[1] Benen, Steve. "ACA contraception policy
has its day in court." MSNBC. Last modified March 26, 2014.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/aca-contraception-policy-has-its-day-court.
[2] Conry, Jeanne A., and Nancy L.
Stanwood. "Opinion: In 2014, why are we still arguing about birth
control?" CNN. Last modified March 25, 2014.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/opinion/conry-stanwood-contraception-hobby-lobby/.
[3] Guttmacher Institute. "Contraceptive
Use in the United States." Guttmacher Institute: Home Page. Accessed
March 31, 2014. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contr_use.html.
[4] DeNoon, Daniel. "The history of birth
control on MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. Last modified January 30, 2005.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51170.
In one of our first classes, Professor Moore
drew two boxes. One for male, and one for female. We, as a class, filled the
boxes with common ides of what females and males were “supposed” to do in our
society. The harshness of these roles were truly brought to light with this
exercise.[1]
