I read on Saturday that you've written to HHS Secretary Sebelius that you think all employers should be allowed to "opt out" due to religious beliefs of having insurance that covers contraception for employees. I also saw that you've filed supporting briefs in not one but two lawsuits arguing the same idea. Let's review what you said, shall we?
DeWine said last night that requiring business owners to include prescriptions such as the morning-after pill, which critics say are abortive, as an employee insurance benefit could be a “direct contradiction” to the religious beliefs of some employers.Ok. Well. I spot two problems right off that I think, just maybe, you should be aware of.
“They’re being forced to provide insurance coverage that violates their religious beliefs,” DeWine said. “They’re being forced to provide insurance coverage for a form of abortion. To me, it’s a religious-freedom issue.”
1. PlanB & similar emergency contraceptives do not induce abortions. Regular birth control pills also do not cause abortions. Mifepristone and misoprostol are what are taken in medication abortions. So, you know, there's that.
2. Employers should NOT be allowed to decide, especially based on their chosen supernatural beliefs, what medications employees get to have covered by the insurance they are paying for. Employees shouldn't have their medical options inhibited by their boss's choice to believe in religious rules and/or straight up be willfully ignorant of basic facts. This? Not a hard concept to understand.
On your site you say: "Every day in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office we are working to protect Ohio families. Everything we do here comes under that.”
Working to help businesses deny Ohio citizens, your constituents, necessary insurance coverage for basic medical needs is not, in fact, "working to protect Ohio families". If anything, it is the exact opposite.
So, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine: you can fuck right off.
With contempt,
Me.
P.S. In June I will be moving back to Ohio and thus become your constituent myself. This shall be such good times, amirite?
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus