Men Who Trust Women: Time to Stand Up for Women and Contraception

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Jul 09, 2014, 08:07 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Dr. Harvey J. Cohen MD PhD, Steve Heilig MPH, and Dr. Mervyn F. Silverman MD MPH, Former Director of Public Health, San Francisco, for Men Who Trust Women:

Our elected officials and the Obama Administration must take decisive action to assure that contraception is covered and paid for on the exact same terms and for the same reasons as other essential preventive health care benefits.

Evidence establishes conclusively that ready access to contraception is accountable for important improvements in the lives of women, families and communities. However, the $1,000 up-front cost of the most effective forms of contraception, such as Intrauterine Devices (IUDs), can put them out of reach of many low-income women who would benefit from them the most.

In the past, health plans that covered Viagra and vasectomies too often did not cover contraception for women. This was the case for Hobby Lobby. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined in 2000 that this practice was discriminatory on the basis of sex, and required health plans for federal employees to cover contraception. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) appropriately follows suit, and includes contraception on the list of required services.

The ACA also waives additional out-of-pocket financial barriers, including co-payments and deductibles, for women's preventive health services recommended by the Institute of Medicine, to facilitate use, and save on future health care costs. These services include contraception and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

The Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case would authorize a wide array of for-profit employers to single out birth control for discriminatory treatment. As Justice Ginsburg has pointed out, the decision is inconsistent and sweepingly broad. It redefines corporations as capable of religious beliefs, by claiming a corporation is simply an association of individuals rather than the standard legal definition that it is a fictitious entity purposely created to shield individuals from liability for business risks. It then privileges the corporation's beliefs over the rights and interests of employees or the public. The Wheaton College decision seems to cement the Court's views.

Several state laws now assert that most religiously-affiliated employers cannot discriminate in hiring based on religion, or in the design of health care benefits. Only a narrow set of organizations, explicitly created for the purpose of worship, are exempted. In creating rules for the ACA, the Administration mistakenly stretched beyond this very narrow boundary, and created an accommodation on contraception coverage for a wider group of religiously-affiliated employers. Compounding that error by seeking further compromises will clearly do nothing to appease Hobby Lobby and Wheaton College.

It is time for the nation to stand up in support of women's health and of contraception, as is done almost everywhere else. In addition, we must motivate the Supreme Court to restore the legitimacy of this right, and recognize the Court's responsibility to evaluate cases on the basis of facts and evidence, and not on religious doctrine.