Millions of Americans rely on birth control to stay healthy.
New York, NY—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear a challenge from Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based craft supply chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, a Pennsylvania furniture-making company, to a key component of the Affordable Care Act that enables women to have insurance coverage for preventive care, including contraceptive coverage, without additional cost. These for-profit companies have filed lawsuits alleging that this provision of the ACA violates their religious beliefs and that they should have the right to withhold coverage for contraceptives to which they object.
Physicians for Reproductive Health (Physicians) Board Chair Dr. Nancy Stanwood issued this statement:
“As physicians, we object to any attempt to place women’s need for affordable birth control at the mercy of the moral or religious inclinations of their employers. Preventive care, including birth control, is basic health care for women—and the decision to use birth control is a conversation between a woman and her medical provider, not a woman and her boss.
“My colleagues and I have spent years advocating for affordable contraception because our patients’ health depends on it. Overwhelming medical evidence demonstrates the connection between birth control and a woman’s health and well-being. Contraception significantly improves a woman’s social, educational, and economic opportunities. Millions of Americans rely on birth control to stay healthy and women deserve health insurance that meets their basic medical needs.”
Physicians and other medical organizations filed a brief in the Supreme Court in support of the government’s petition for certiorari. The brief is available to read/download here. Physicians will be submitting a brief on the merits as well.