The company that opposed the “Obamacare contraceptive mandate” before
the U. S. Supreme Court has routinely provided contraceptive drugs to its
employees, and has invested in companies that manufacture contraceptives.
Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., is owned by folks who claimed that their
religious faith prevents them from complying with the Affordable Care Act’s
requirement that their employee health coverage must cover federally-approved
contraceptives.
Nevertheless, for years the company’s health care plan did cover
two specific contraceptive pills (“Plan B” and “Ella”). These drugs were
dropped from the Hobby Lobby health plan in 2012 when the company was starting
to prepare the court challenge.
And another thing: three months after the anti-Obamacare suit was started, public filings by Hobby Lobby showed that $73 million of its 401(k)
employee retirement funds was invested in mutual funds that included ownership
of companies that manufacture contraceptive pills, abortion drugs and
intrauterine devices.
So the whole Supreme Court gambit isn’t really based on any long-standing,
conscientious application of the Hobby Lobby owners’ religious convictions.
It’s just doctrinaire partisan politics.
I don’t think a company has any business telling its employees that
they can go in for gall bladder surgery but they can’t practice safe and
effective contraception.
No comments:
Post a Comment