More than 40 Coalition for Liberty & Justice Member Organizations Urge Supreme Court to Reject Challenges to Contraceptive Coverage

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Mar 25, 2014, 12:00 ET

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments from Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., 44 members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, a broad alliance of faith-based, secular and other national organizations, endorsed the statement below in support of real religious liberty for all. If you would like to contact any of the coalition members, please see the media contact list following the statement.

On March 25, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in lawsuits brought by Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a national arts-and-crafts chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., a cabinet manufacturer. The cases challenge the Affordable Care Act's requirement that insurance plans include coverage for contraception with no co-pay, which was designed to advance women's health and equality. We, the undersigned members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, express our support for the right of all workers and their dependents to access contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act and to make personal decisions about using contraception based on their own beliefs. We oppose the corporations' attempts to invoke their owners' religious beliefs to undermine women's health and equality and interfere in their personal decision-making. Corporations should not be permitted to impose religious views on their employees.

We represent a diverse cross-section of communities, including faith-based and secular groups as well as those dedicated to LGBT rights, women's rights, separation of church and state, civil rights and reproductive rights and justice. We are united in our belief that public policies should both respect religious liberty and protect against the use of religious beliefs to discriminate or undermine equality. We believe that true religious liberty respects individuals, supports the common good and reflects the foundational principles of our nation.

We therefore strongly support the rights of female workers and their dependents to follow their consciences, moral codes and beliefs when making a decision about contraception and oppose the plaintiffs' attempts to interfere in this personal decision-making. We hope the Supreme Court will reject the corporations' challenges to the contraceptive coverage regulations.

Signed,

Americans for Religious Liberty
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Call To Action
Catholics for Choice
Center for Inquiry
Center for Reproductive Rights
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Concerned Clergy for Choice
CORPUS
DignityUSA
Faith Aloud
GetEQUAL Action
Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc.
Human Rights Campaign
Ibis Reproductive Health
Institute for Science and Human Values
Interfaith Alliance
Keshet
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
Medical Students for Choice
Metropolitan Community Churches Public Policy Team
MergerWatch
Methodist Federation for Social Action
Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
Muslims for Progressive Values
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Women's Organizations
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation
National Women's Health Network
Nehirim
New Ways Ministry
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Religious Institute
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
Secular Coalition for America
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.
Society for Humanistic Judaism
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
Women's League for Conservative Judaism