Conservatives have a long history of thinking they can control women’s bodies and now, Hobby Lobby – a for profit, secular corporation – believes they can do the same.
The Supreme Court is set to hear from Hobby Lobby starting today regarding their lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. Hobby Lobby is arguing that they have a right to withhold insurance coverage for certain types of birth control based on the owner’s religious beliefs.
Not only do they stand against birth control, but they also want to be exempt from providing counseling and education about birth control as well. A ruling in Hobby Lobby’s favor would set an outrageous precedent, essentially allowing corporations to pick and choose what they deem appropriate coverage regarding women’s healthcare.
Women are more than capable of making their own decisions regarding their bodies – in fact, 84% of women who would be affected by this case agreed with the statement that the decision to use birth control “should be a woman’s personal decision, and her boss should not be able to interfere with it.”
Even though polling results reveal that women voters are largely against the Supreme Court siding with Hobby Lobby, the outcome still has important consequences that could be far reaching. If the court decides in favor of Hobby Lobby, it opens a huge door allowing corporations to not only pick and choose what their insurance covers, but also simultaneously limits the information you can receive. This would not only complicate the coverage process, but also a doctor’s ability to obtain ‘informed consent‘.
There are a lot of ‘what-if’ scenarios surrounding this Supreme Court case, but it is easy to see how giving a corporation this type of power would be problematic – and over 2/3 of American women agree.