Democrats in the U.S. Senate are planning to wield the Supreme Court’s unpopular Hobby Lobby decision as a club against Republicans, and the fight begins Wednesday with the introduction of the “Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act.”
The bill, one of at least three being prepared by Democrats, “ensures that employers cannot interfere in their employee’s decisions about contraception and other health services.” It says that all insurance plans – including those provided by for-profit corporations – must cover contraception, though it keeps the exemption for houses of worship and the “accommodation” for religious nonprofits.
The bill will be presented by Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who said, “Since the Supreme Court decided it will not protect women’s access to health care, I will.” Her co-author is Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, who is in a tight re-election race with a conservative personhood advocate — in a swing state with a personhood amendment* on its ballot.
The bill is not expected to survive in the Republican-controlled House, but it will serve to keep the contraception issue alive through the midterm elections in November. Republicans are expected to continue defending the Hobby Lobby decision as a victory for religious liberty while Dems defend women’s health rights and hope for more Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin debacles. Or maybe a rerun of Rick Santorum’s pearls of wisdom.
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*The so-called Brady Amendment was initiated by Heather Surovik, who lost her 8-month-old fetus in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. Pied Type covered the story in a discussion about what journalists and others should call an unborn baby.