11.06.15

Scott Statement on ACA Challenge Reaching the Supreme Court under the Guise of Religious Freedom

 

WASHINGTON – Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement today after the Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear arguments in seven consolidated cases.  The cases question whether the contraceptive accommodation for some religiously affiliated organizations who wish to avail themselves of the preventive services mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA):

“Under the ACA, health coverage must include access to preventive services without out-of-pocket costs, including contraceptive coverage for women.  The Department of Health and Human Services provides two separate accommodation mechanisms by which certain employers and universities are permitted to exclude the birth control benefit from their health insurance plans, while ensuring that female employees and students receive coverage directly from their insurance company.  In the cases granted certiorari today, employers and universities challenged that the accommodation violates their ‘sincerely held religious belief’ under RFRA.

“When Congress passed RFRA in 1993, it was never meant to trump the civil rights and health protections of Americans.  There was a broad coalition, both Republicans and Democrats, that supported passage of the law.  Sadly, since the enactment of RFRA, there has been a gradual attack of civil rights in the areas of housing, employment, and most recently women’s health.

 

“The original intent of RFRA was to restore the strict scrutiny standard for religious exercise and in particular, to provide protection for religious minorities.  RFRA was never envisioned to be a tool that imposes one’s religious views over another person’s civil rights.

 

“Unfortunately, the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision distorted the purpose of RFRA to permit a limited liability corporation to curtail and deny women’s access to health services. I sincerely hope that today’s announcement by the Supreme Court to review the ACA’s birth control accommodations will serve as an opportunity to make clear that the ‘religious freedom’ of an employer or university cannot be used as a tool to deprive women of their civil rights as it relates to their health care services or options.”

 

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