Supreme Court to Hear Major Contraceptive Challenges; NARAL Organizing Bus Trip and Rally

This is just too much: for-profit employers who want to deny employees access to basic birth control. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear two challenges to contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ACA guarantees women access to contraceptives with no cost sharing through their private health plans. There is already an exemption for religious groups and an accommodation for other religiously affiliated nonprofit organizations. However, for-profit employers, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga, claim it violates their personal religious beliefs to provide health plans that include contraceptive coverage.

Women should be able to make their own choices about birth control – not their bosses! The dispute centers on facts about birth control that opponents are misrepresenting:

1. contraception, and emergency contraception, is not the same thing as abortion; 
2. birth control has positive health benefits for millions of women; 
3. comprehensive contraceptive coverage improves use; and
4. contraceptive coverage is not a financial burden.

NARAL Pro-Choice NY will be organizing free bus rides to DC for the rally at the Supreme Court: My Birth Control is Not My Boss’s Business! (buses leave at 4am, 470 Park Ave., bet. 31st & 32nd St). Please feel free to spread the word!

Take Action! Sign onto the “Boss Bill” (S. 6578-A / A. 8769), legislation banning employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of their personal reproductive health decisions.

And thanks to all who attended our BPCLC breakfast. The presentation is available here, and feel free to follow up with us if you need more information in specific areas.