The ramifications of the SCOTUS ruling is scary. Extending 1st Amendment religious freedom protections to a for-profit corporation will have immediate impacts on a womans right to make reproductive healthcare choices for herself. The slippery slope was not curtailed by the Court narrowing the decision since there can be countless arguments made as to why religious exemption should be applied more broadly, even to larger, publicly traded companies. There is no doubt that we will see companies start to pick at specific provisions of ACA and decide what they find personally objectionable to their faith. I wish I could have withheld my portion of taxes that was spent on Bushs war on Iraq because it certainly offended my conscience. Of course, ignored in the majority opinion is the religious freedom of the employees. What about the freedom of a woman to exercise their rights without their employer dictating parameters of their healthcare coverage. Why should a woman have to take money out of her own pocket for a legitimate healthcare use regarding her own body because of their employers religious beliefs? This decision, coupled with the decision to make it tougher for home care workers (most of whom are women) to organize is a double blow for women and further evidence that this Courts dubious legacy will be emboldening the principle of corporate personhood at the expense of individual freedom and rights.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:52:38 +0000