Levin, Waxman, Miller Statements on Hobby Lobby Decision
WASHINGTON – The ranking members of the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce Committees today issued statements in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, allowing some for-profit corporations to exclude contraception coverage in their employees’ insurance plans:
Rep. Sander Levin: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling undermines a woman’s right to make health decisions that are best for her and her family. This ruling not only limits a woman’s access to contraception, it also makes employees of private corporations vulnerable to discrimination when their employer says that the employee’s rights conflict with their religious beliefs. This is a dangerous precedent to set.”
Rep. Henry Waxman: “The Court has said that fictional corporations that exist only on paper have more rights than real people who have real health-care needs. It’s one more radical judicial step in making it better to be a corporation than a person. It is particularly offensive that the Court does this in a decision that is so personal for a woman: her decision to have or not have children. For-profit corporations, no matter the size and structure, should not have the right to limit their female employees access to safe, legal, and critically important health care services. We must continue to forcefully oppose efforts to roll back women’s rights to make their own health care decisions and work to make sure all Americans have access to the preventive health services they need.”
Rep. George Miller: “In passing the Affordable Care Act, we were very clear: when it comes to health care, women can no longer be discriminated against, charged more, or denied services simply because of their gender. As a result, the ACA is the most significant piece of legislation for women’s health that this country has seen in decades. The law has broadened access to health care and contraception so that women, not their bosses or insurance companies, can make their own choices about their health care. Today’s Supreme Court decision is another backwards-looking and unwarranted attack on women’s access to health care.”
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