16/20

I'm really disgusted with the comments I'm hearing from my friends and family since the SCOTUS verdict earlier this week. My entire family is religious. All of them- okay with the exception of my 'pastafarian' cousin, but, he's also a libertarian so he doesn't really count. So SCOTUS sided with Hobby Lobby stating that the 'closely-held' corporation has its own religious ideas about the mandated provided healthcare. It's absurd.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/supreme-court-hobby-lobby-decision-contraception-mandate-108429.html

What irks me more is that many of the comments in support of this ruling are from the women in my social group.  Religious friends and family, whom I love and respect, are praising this court decision and commenting on my annoyed posts against the decision. Some of the things they are saying are the classic arguments I've been hearing for the past few days. I'd like to address them here:

1) The Hobby Lobby health plan is still going to be covering 16 out of the 20 FDA approved contraceptives.

Are you fracking kidding me? All I'm hearing from you is that there are 20 options to choose from and your employer is telling you that 4 of those options they don't agree with so you can't have them. And you are basically replying to this nonsense 'WOW look at what they are still letting me choose from!'  Let's do a little role playing:

Suzy works at Hobby Lobby. Suzy is a customer service manager making $11 per hour. If Suzy works full time, annually she would earn $22,880- before taxes of course. Suzy is not married, but has a boyfriend, is sexually active, and decided that she doesn't want kids.  Suzy also has endometriosis. He physician has prescribed an IUD that her employer does not approve of. Not only do they not approve of this medication they don't approve of any medical visits where the physician would council Suzy about said medication. Not only can you not have the medication but the office visit where you would talk about the medication with the physician won't be covered. Un-fracking-believable. We'll come back to Suzy.


2) No one is saying that a woman can't have access to these other 4 medications. They have to pay for it or get them from somewhere else. 

 Let's be sure that we all keep in mind that we do pay for our health insurance. I get deducted a certain amount from each paycheck that pays for my health insurance through my employer. My employer also pays some for the insurance but I'm not getting anything for free. I've chosen my physicians carefully. I like my gynecologist.  I really don't want to have to go to a Planned Parenthood clinic or some discounted free-clinic for my regular health care. I'm not putting those places down.  Places like that are for the people who have NO healthcare whatsoever. I'd be really annoyed at having to go there because the health insurance I already pay for is being blocked by my employer's religion and nothing more. Let's keep on with the role playing:

Suzy must now either pay for her IUD of out pocket OR she can go to an unknown clinic where they have this medication at a discounted rate.  IUD's can range from $500-$2,000 once you include the cost of the medication and the cost of having the device inserted by a physician. Sure, Suzy will be saving money in the long run by not having to pay for monthly birth control pills and feminine hygiene products (as most IUDs stop menstrual cycles). But, as any person living on a shoestring budget- and someone who lives on $22k a year is on a tight budget- coming up with upfront costs is difficult.

So Suzy decides she can't afford the IUD and goes without that form of birth control. She and her boyfriend use other forms of contraception, like condoms. Suzy becomes pregnant. Her employer won't pay for an abortion. Suzy develops an ectopic pregnancy. Now her employer has to pay for her surgery to save her life. Or not, because they can use this situation to say that it would kill the potential child in her womb. Suzy is S.O.L.

3) The government will just pay for it anyway. 

Sure. It's not like ANYONE is UPSET over the rising COSTS of government assistance that people receive...

Title X is a good example here. Title X is a family-planning program for low-income women. Nearly ALL House Republicans have already voted to cut funding to this program. In his 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney swore that he would kill the program altogether. (Dodged that bullet)

Title X funding has gone down more than two-thirds since 1980, after adjusting for inflation. It has less funding than what is already needed to help the amount of low-income and uninsured women in this country. Adding all of these privately insured people would overload it even more and make it even more vulnerable to political attacks.

Funding to Planned Parenthood is also under attack largely due to conservative politicians looking to punish the organization for access to separately provided abortions.  'You do something that we don't like so we're going to punish EVERYTHING you do.'

More with Suzy: What if Suzy had a normal pregnancy? Now her employer will lose out on her birthing costs,  her maternity leave, any time off she will need to care for her child, etc. Suzy would probably add her child to her health insurance increasing the long-term cost of care for both her and her child. On $22,880 a year- before taxes- Suzy will now need to be on WIC and/or food stamps. These are government funded nutrition plans for children and low income families. Congrats! You've now just made your own taxes pay for not only Suzy, who was making it on her own with no government supplemental support, but for Suzy and her child. Good job.

4) Those pills caused abortions anyway. Women don't NEED abortion pills if they would just keep their legs together.

False. There are two kinds of emergency contraception on the market: an over-the-counter one generally known as Plan B and a prescription-only one known as Ella. There is no scientific evidence that emergency contraceptives available in the United States and approved by the FDA affect an existing pregnancy. These medications prevent ovulation, so there is no egg to fertilize. Mirena, a form of IUD, includes hormones that prevent ovulation. Other IUDs prevent implantation. That’s not the medical definition of abortion, which is ending a pregnancy. This is preventing one to 'take', which happens within a woman's body frequently and naturally.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified family planning as one of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century, finding that smaller families and longer birth intervals contribute to the better health of infants, children, and women, as well as improving the social and economic roles of women.”

“Contraception also helps to protect the health of those women for whom pregnancy can be hazardous, or even life-threatening.”
 
Hormonal birth control: “helps address several menstrual disorders, helps prevent menstrual migraines, treats pelvic pain from endometriosis, and treats bleeding from uterine fibroids.”  

 http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hobby-lobby-case-myths-debunked

 5)  If they don't like it they can just get a job somewhere else!

Deal. Let's just send Suzy and everyone else who opposes this to Jobland where they will be able to choose a job with an employer who maybe doesn't have a religious issue with birth control. Our job market is PACKED with employers just waiting to hire as many people as possible. In fact, I don't like the color on the walls of my office. I'm going down to Jobland this afternoon for a new career.

What a joke.

6) This is about businesses being run the way the owner intends it to be run! Government can't just step in and take over my business!

You're right. The government can't just take over your business. They can enforce regulations. Child labor laws, Americans with Disabilities Act, discrimination laws, etc. I only took one course of business law in college. I'm no business law expert. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think I remember my professor, who was a practicing lawyer at the time, explaining to the class that once a company gets to a certain size they need to abide by slightly different rules. Regulations can also vary depending on the state. 

Here, with Hobby Lobby, we have a business that employs 13,000 people across the country. They are a national retail chain. This company is owned by a five-member family who, apparently, are religious enough to oppose certain types of birth control that 'cause abortions' but, just corporate minded enough to invest in these forms of birth control. So they will make money off the medications, they just don't want to have to pay a portion of the cost of it for their employees.

"Hobby Lobby's founders have made it clear that any abortion and certain contraceptives are unacceptable in their eyes, yet the company's 401(k) plan has millions of dollars invested in funds that own the companies that make birth control methods including Plan B, the so-called "morning after" drug."

http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/01/investing/hobby-lobby-401k-contraception/

Awesome.  So this company has won the legal right to have a religious view. And the company's religious view trumps women's rights.

7) 'Why should I be upset about this? Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I can't tell right from wrong!'

This one scares me the most. I good friend of mine from college actually said this one. It's on Facebook. We all can read it. What scares me about it is that she doesn't see what's wrong about this ruling. If fact, she doesn't think anything is wrong about it at all.  She sees this solely as a business rights ruling. This is where women screw themselves over. We miss the little things. This one company has an issue with certain types of birth control. So we let it slide. After all, it's their business. The next company in line has a problem with ALL FORMS of birth control. After all, it's their business and now we have a supreme court ruling that says they have a right to enforce their beliefs. The next company has an issue with blood transfusions. Then the next company has a problem with ANY medical treatment. They believe that prayer is the only form of help you need. Where does this stop?

One of this woman's friends had the audacity to compare that slippery slope argument with the slippery slope argument against gay marriage. 'If you let gay couples marry what's stopping people from marrying children and animals?' If you can't see the difference between consensual adults, pedophiles, bestiality, religious views, women's rights, and general scientific healthcare then get the hell away from me.

I think I may have lost a friend over a craft store.

8) This is about how Obamacare is crushing businesses!

Here's a point: If Hobby Lobby had brought this case to the courts under that idea that paying for medications is a costly burden on them though the Affordable Care Act we would be having a completely different discussion. But they didn't do that. They brought this case saying that these medications go against their religious rights.

A craft store's religious views trumps women's health care. And solely women's care. Vasectomies and male enhancement pills (Viagra) are still covered. This is a clear sign that our health system and country are taking monumental steps backward.  My health could take a back seat to someone's ancient, backward, unscientific, and outdated traditions.This court case has already led to other businesses filing suites to deny coverage due to their own personal beliefs. And they are going beyond just 4 out of 20 contraceptives.

I will NEVER again require a cheaply made, imported from China, piece of crap THING from Hobby Lobby.