Lambda Legal and the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission today urged the Intermediate Court of Appeals of the State of Hawai`i to reject a new argument that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores allows a commercial business operating a bed and breakfast to refuse accommodation to a lesbian couple, and thereby violate Hawai`i’s antidiscrimination law, by invoking the business owner’s religious beliefs as a defense.
Contraception is a core preventive health service for women, including bisexual women and lesbians, for treating endometriosis, related pelvic pain and other health problems as well as for preventing pregnancy. Coverage of all FDA-approved contraceptives was guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act.
The provision in the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity has long been a source of significant concern to us.
Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the right of individuals to access birth control despite the opposition of some religious sects. Since then, mainstream attitudes have changed. But fundamentalist religious views about reproductive health and sexuality still influence our politics and law.
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled 5-4 that some for-profit companies can assert religious rights to block their employees’ access to group health plan coverage for FDA-approved contraception as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
In its Citizens United ruling that corporations have free speech rights that can trump campaign finance laws, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially agreed with the worldview Mitt Romney espoused on the campaign trail: “Corporations are people, my friend.” We may soon feel further reverberations of that worldview.
Recently, the federal district court for the District of Columbia issued an important decision in a case about whether Title VII protects lesbian, gay and bisexual workers from discrimination.
The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in two cases challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that FDA-approved contraception be among the basic preventive health care services included in insurance coverage for employees.