Birth Control is Not My Boss’s Business

By Arielle P. Schwartz, Holley Law Fellow, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is committed to reproductive justice and your right to access birth control and comprehensive healthcare. We are rallying at the Supreme Court of the United States tomorrow to ensure that the message “birth control is not your boss’s business” is heard loud and clear.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius and decide whether for-profit corporations have a religious right to be exempt from the contraceptive-coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act. This question continues the coversation surrounding “corporate personhood” that Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decided in 2010 (learn more about corporate personhood and why Hobby Lobby’s owners want to have their corporate cake and eat it, too).

Corporations must not be allowed to deny birth control coverage to their employees based on their own personally held religious beliefs. This is the same slippery slope that Arizona served up a few weeks ago and the LGBT community should be standing at the forefront just like we did for Windsor. This is your paycheck and your healthcare, and private corporations have no business telling you otherwise. We at The Task Force recognize the intersectionality between the reproductive justice movement and the LGBT community—our bodies are not a battle ground for the world to vote on and we cannot allow people (or corporations) to decide how we live our lives.

We’ll be rallying with our progressive allies at the Supreme Court tomorrow and the Task Force will keep you updated right here on our blog.