The Supreme Court will be hearing Zubik v. Burwell, one of the most important religious liberty cases they’ve faced in years. Ironically and predictably, Catholics for Choice joined with a number of other groups to urge the court to force religious institutions to provide contraceptive and abortion coverage to employees.
So much for choice, huh?
Jon O’ Brien, president of Catholics for Choice and lead among the amici, said, “Where you are employed should not override your religious freedom nor limit your access to healthcare. The majority of Catholics use and support contraceptive coverage. The majority of Catholics support real religious liberty for all. The majority of Catholics would be disappointed by a ruling in favor of the bishops.”
Continued O’Brien, “We filed this brief because we are all concerned that if the bishops and their allies get their way, it will only be the beginning. The bishops have shown their desire to circumvent any law to which they object. If the courts rule in their favor, they could start opposing health insurance benefits for same-sex couples and their dependents, or refuse maternity leave to women who have children using in vitro fertilization, or deny gay and lesbian parents the right to adopt a child.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a member of the coalition, said, “We believe it is absolutely essential that the petitioners not prevail in this case. We are already seeing employees in same-sex marriages being refused employment, fired and denied health benefits that are given to their colleagues—all on the basis of employers’ religious beliefs. We don’t believe the law supports this and hope the court upholds the equality of all employees.”
Jim Fitzgerald, executive director of Call to Action, a third member of the coalition, said, “The majority of Catholics across the country support equality, inclusivity and social justice. We join them in rejecting discrimination on the basis of sexual identity or conscience-based decisions about healthcare. We lift up the rights of workers to follow their God-given conscience when making deeply personal decisions around their reproductive health.”
O’Brien also said that he believes that “imposing religious beliefs on others is wrong.” I guess imposing one’s beliefs on Christians in favor of contraception and abortion is ok.
The court will hear oral arguments on March 23.
