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SCOTUS promotes religion over women — again

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Supreme-Court-Justices-2014
The Supreme Court hasn’t wasted any time adding fuel to the religion vs. women’s rights conflagration it ignited with its Hobby Lobby decision on Monday. Late Thursday, just before recessing their current session, they issued one more ruling.

It seems Wheaton College, a Christian college in Illinois, objected to filling out a required federal form and submitting it to their insurer / plan administrator as an alternate way to provide free contraception for female employees under the Affordable Care Act. The college objected to signing the form “because it believes, as a religious matter, that signing the form would be impermissibly facilitating abortions and therefore forbidden.”

In a 6-3 decision split down gender lines, the court said, in effect, “Heyyy, no problem, Wheaton. Just notify the government in writing and everything’s cool.” It noted that the government is free “to facilitate the provision of full contraceptive coverage.” The justices are blocking the ACA requirement in Wheaton’s case until the courts determine whether the coverage requirement is valid for religious institutions and nonprofits.

In short, the court that told Hobby Lobby its owners’ religious beliefs took precedence over female employees’ rights has now allowed Wheaton College the same privilege — and questioned a new federal regulation in the process. The female justices vehemently opposed both decisions.

… and the war on women goes on.

 

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Don’t miss Slate’s examination of this decision and their explanation of how this is a reversal of the court’s position stated just three days ago: Quick Change Justice: While you were sleeping, Hobby Lobby just got so much worse.

27 thoughts on “SCOTUS promotes religion over women — again”

        1. Hobby Lobby got a lot of attention, but I’ve heard very little about this decision so far. Maybe announcing it on the day before a holiday weekend was calculated to escape notice. They learned that trick from our illustrious Congress.

  6. I think the news media/administrative guidance of it was irritated at one of the judges they stuck in there voted unexpectedly. There was a lot of coverage on news here about the decision – multiple sources…perhaps inquire why overlooked there by local media?
    While at it, would like some answer why women in White House posts and administration positions in DC are paid less. How can they possibly expect to provide an example if they do that? (Know for a fact it’s very common in many business/hospitals in DC/DC area, too) Infuriating. Simply infuriating.

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    1. The decision came down late Thursday, just as the holiday weekend was beginning. A classic trick to escape media notice, if that’s the intent. Also some reports said it was an emergency ruling. Perhaps not on previously announced schedules. I had CNN on all day without hearing about it. I came across it while browsing news sites on the Internet. I don’t spend much time with local media.

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      1. Can’t believe CNN ignored it. For the past few years just before holidays/weekends is when all the news bombs drop – you’d think they would be foaming at the mouth to get the word out first. Odd.
        This time of year with lows in the Gulf, we watch for tropical storm updates twice a day from one local station that has a good weather guy and reports on Galveston weather and not just Houston (who’s weather station data comes from IAH airport up north almost to Conroe

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        1. Having CNN on as background noise doesn’t really constitute listening attentively. And once I’d read about the decision, I got busy writing.

          I don’t pay much attention to local news. I’m almost 20 miles out from the Denver media, and they tend to focus on Denver proper. I ignore their weather in spring and summer because of all the cranked up warnings about thunderstorms and tornadoes. The NWS really did the public a disservice when they decided they need to “alarm” us more in order to get us to react sooner. Now I just ignore their constantly hollering “wolf.” I’m not about to take cover for an hour every time there’s a thunderstorm somewhere in the state.

        2. You guys have as wide a difference in weather at the same time on the same day as we do.
          But there is a change with the NWS – all the alarmists stuff. They need to read the story about crying wolf all the time.
          Funny you should mention the thunderstorms – we were in that area for long periods during summers when growing up – other than rangers warning about afternoon lightning, there wasn’t much concern about the weather – not like now. Everything seems to be ultra extreme drama…everything.
          More and more I just double check the lows in the gulf and high pressure over land – then turn off the TV. It’s all driving me nuts

        3. You can’t enjoy TV when the local stations keep breaking in with their stormchasers and radar, and the NWS is issuing those damn beep, beep, beep things that fill the screen. Around here they look like 20 year old computer screens, have some sort of unrelated voices in the background, and mix Spanish and English in an almost unintelligible hash. And that’s just for thunderstorms!

        4. Hate those urgent beepings. Getting just as bad are the Amber alerts for missing persons – especially those for ones located waaaay across the state….I know they may have traveled hundreds of miles ( in 15 minutes), but please keep them in reasonable locations and not annoy the rest of us…it’s like the crying wolf thing…that and about 1/3 of them are kids over at a friends or relative’s house. Hurts the whole concept. Otherwise, a little background noise is welcomed…bubbling fountains. Only choice right now

        5. And they are multiplying. There are several other kinds of alerts now. Old people wandering off, etc. I don’t know what all. Makes no sense to show them to people who are home watching TV. The highway signs that put up the messages … those make sense.

        6. true – especially in the county where its’ happening or close by – and had to fight phone to stop them from coming in there. UGH (Additionally annoyed at those highway signs blinking “It’s hurricane season – be prepared” – like we don’t know that already…Everyone is screaming it…)
          tuning out, tuning out…

        7. Oh, goodie, we just got a new one — Medina alert. It’s to spot hit-and-run suspects. I hope it goes just to motorists on the road. But we do desperately need it here. There are several hit-and-runs reported every week. Appalling.

        8. Common here now if you get hit by a car better get out quickly and snap pictures of the other driver and occupants – normal practice is for them to take off running after hitting someone…sad state of affairs.
          (FYI.Did you hear about the bills in progress in the Senate and a companion one in the House being written to address the birth control insurance issue?)
          A cool front is coming? To drop temps in pan handle – we may get rain Wed or Thurs – which is better than nothing.

        9. I wish our hit-and-runs were only a matter of car damage. Too often it’s pedestrians that are hit and killed. And too often it’s unlicensed illegal alien drivers.

... and that's my two cents