Supreme Court ruling ripped
There’s a lot wrong with the Supreme Court’s decision that allows companies and businesses to make decisions about their employee’s healthcare based on religion principles.
Specifically, this ruling determined that the national retail chain Hobby Lobby could choose healthcare plans for its employees that does not cover certain kinds of birth control, like IUDs (intrauterine devices) and Plan B, also known as the “morning after pill.”
The first thing wrong with this is that it very plainly establishes that the religious beliefs of a company can dictate the lives of its employees. In this case, in a way that can deeply affect those employee’s health and wellbeing.
Particularly when it comes to the IUD, which, though it’s not used quite as much in America, is the most widely used form of birth control in the world. Its side effects are low, its effectiveness is nearly airtight (as effective as sterilization) and it lasts for 10 years, yet is completely reversible at any time.
It also costs between $500 and $1,000, which is a prohibitive upfront cost for many women if their insurance won’t cover it.
So when someone says, “It’s not that big of a deal! Only four types of birth control out of dozens won’t be covered!” they’re missing the fact that, for many, the IUD is the best choice. There is no alternative.
And Plan B also serves a very specific function; it helps to prevent a pregnancy from happening in the event of a mishap. There is no other pill that does that. It costs about $50, and scrounging up $50 at a moment’s notice is no easy thing for a lot of women.
Beyond taking away a woman’s healthcare choice, this ruling is based on a shaky understanding of biological facts. Those opposed on religious grounds cite objections to any kind of birth control that prohibits the implantation of a fertilized egg. But without the implantation of a fertilized egg, there is no pregnancy, and thus no abortion. So calling the pill or the IUD an “abortificant” is completely untrue in the medical sense.
Some say, “No one is forced to work at Hobby Lobby!” and that’s true, but this is bigger than Hobby Lobby. There are 149 other companies with similar cases pending. With this precedent, they will likely get their wish.
And here is where one of the most overlooked results of this ruling comes in.
It deepens some already very deep divides. Between religious and non-religious. Between conservatives and liberals. Between women and men (the female justices opposed this ruling; the five males were in favor).
There is so much “failing to see the other side” going on here.
Men have no idea how important birth control is to the women in their lives; how much we think about preventing an unwanted pregnancy.
And this ruling essentially says that women are being denied their full employee benefits due to their gender. It creates a bigger chasm between male and female employees, while females are still struggling for equal pay and equal recognition.
Sure, women aren’t forced to work at Hobby Lobby. And many won’t, now. Many also won’t work for any company with a known Christian belief system, because it might mean that, eventually, their health decisions will be made for them.
As my friend, the writer Matt Bell, says, “If I was looking for somewhere to work for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t choose a company owned by a Christian like the ones who run Hobby Lobby. It’s too risky. After this decision, the wise thing would be for all of us to only work for and with like-minded people, and that can only lead to a society in which people are more isolated, more polarized, more likely to always choose their in-group over everyone else.”
Once the divide between religious and non-religious deepens due to fear and mistrust, we’ll get further and further from a mutual understanding that allows us to co-exist.
And that’s the true tragedy, here.
Jessica Vozel is originally from Perryopolis and, after attending graduate school and teaching in Ohio, now works as a freelance journalist and copywriter in the Pittsburgh area.