US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D)

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 2,143)

Yesterday the Supreme Court limited the rights of women to birth control protection when it ruled that Hobby Lobby, a family owned business is not required to provide birth control to its employees under the Affordable Care Act.  In a 5-4 vote, the ruling upheld the religious rights of a Christian owned business to withhold such insurance that violate religious beliefs.

“I’m extremely disappointed that the court has held the power of corporations over the rights of women to make their own health care decisions,” said US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D) in a press released promptly yesterday after the decision was announced. “Health insurance is a benefit that their employees have earned and their policies should cover both birth control because it is a fundamental part of a woman’s health.  Whether she uses it should be up to her alone – not her employee’s board of directors.  The Supreme Court has again furthered the notion that corporations are people who can use the power and so-called rights to supersede those of individuals,” she concluded.

According to a front-page article in “The New York Times” by Adam Liptak today,  this decision “opened the door to many challenges from corporations over laws that they claim violate their religious liberty.” The same article quoted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent opinion ” as a radical overhaul of corporate rights, one that could apply to all corporations and to countless laws.”