Overturn the Supreme Court's Discriminatory Ruling Against Women's Health Target: US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. Goal: Overturn the Supreme Court ruling that religious leanings of employers enable them to restrict women's access to insurance coverage for medical care In her beautiful autobiography, _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_, Maya Angelou writes, of being a black woman going through adolescence in the 1930s and '40s, "The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power." The Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS) recently gave in to the perpetuation of masculine prejudice, illogical hate, and lack of power when they ruled that corporations have the ability to selectively discriminate against women by refusing that health insurance policies cover contraceptives. In the case Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, an American company owned by an evangelical Christian family from Oklahoma. This ruling means that a family-owned company may be exempt from guidelines set in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the fact that insurance providers must cover contraceptives, which some conservative Christians are incorrectly convinced is the same thing as abortion (science, on the other hand, correctly informs us that it is not). Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg stated in her dissent, "The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield." These words reflect the apparent breadth of the ruling which essentially boils down to companies being able to exercise their "sincerely held religious beliefs" (even when these are NOT backed by science) and to "opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible [with those beliefs]." The current coverage provided by the ACA "…helps safeguard the health of women for whom pregnancy may be hazardous, even life threatening. And the mandate secures benefits wholly unrelated to pregnancy, preventing certain cancers, menstrual disorders, and pelvic pain." Now, companies have the right to decide for women whether or not they would be insured in such ways. Denounce the decision of SCOTUS and call on US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. to recognize how these actions impact women. Let SCOTUS know that U.S. citizens do NOT approve of systematic discrimination towards women and that it is unconstitutional to allow the personal opinions of employers influence the rights to fair health care of their employees. PETITION LETTER: Dear Mr. Robert, The recent Supreme Court ruling in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby that companies can use their personal morals under the guise of religious freedom to control the lives of others is nothing less than absurd. This ruling opens the floodgates for health coverage decisions which "sincerely held religious beliefs" could influence regardless of state of the art medicine or scientific studies. Not only is restricting coverage for women's health a heinous act of sexism, it is yet another example of corporations getting special privileges based on the nature of their existence as corporations. In this case, when the company won't shell out, the check bounces back to the government (i.e., to taxpayers) if the corporation refuses to pay. The problem with this is that corporations are NOT people. The problem with this is that women ARE. The problem with this is that religious freedoms apply to PERSONAL decisions and cannot--and must not--be used by corporations to control the health outcomes of people. I urge you to hear the people of American who are speaking. There are approximately 318 million people currently living in America. Approximately 164 million of them (that's over half, by the way) just witnessed a collapse of their health rights. Please overturn this discriminatory ruling which hurts American women and helps no one. Sincerely, [Your Name Here]

Overturn the Supreme Court's Discriminatory Ruling Against Women's Health

Target: US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr.

Goal: Overturn the Supreme Court ruling that religious leanings of employers enable them to restrict women's access to insurance coverage for medical care

In her beautiful autobiography, _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_, Maya Angelou writes, of being a black woman going through adolescence in the 1930s and '40s, "The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power."

The Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS) recently gave in to the perpetuation of masculine prejudice, illogical hate, and lack of power when they ruled that corporations have the ability to selectively discriminate against women by refusing that health insurance policies cover contraceptives.

In the case Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, an American company owned by an evangelical Christian family from Oklahoma. This ruling means that a family-owned company may be exempt from guidelines set in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the fact that insurance providers must cover contraceptives, which some conservative Christians are incorrectly convinced is the same thing as abortion (science, on the other hand, correctly informs us that it is not).

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg stated in her dissent, "The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield." These words reflect the apparent breadth of the ruling which essentially boils down to companies being able to exercise their "sincerely held religious beliefs" (even when these are NOT backed by science) and to "opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible [with those beliefs]." The current coverage provided by the ACA "…helps safeguard the health of women for whom pregnancy may be hazardous, even life threatening. And the mandate secures benefits wholly unrelated to pregnancy, preventing certain cancers, menstrual disorders, and pelvic pain." Now, companies have the right to decide for women whether or not they would be insured in such ways.

Denounce the decision of SCOTUS and call on US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. to recognize how these actions impact women. Let SCOTUS know that U.S. citizens do NOT approve of systematic discrimination towards women and that it is unconstitutional to allow the personal opinions of employers influence the rights to fair health care of their employees.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Robert,

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby that companies can use their personal morals under the guise of religious freedom to control the lives of others is nothing less than absurd. This ruling opens the floodgates for health coverage decisions which "sincerely held religious beliefs" could influence regardless of state of the art medicine or scientific studies.

Not only is restricting coverage for women's health a heinous act of sexism, it is yet another example of corporations getting special privileges based on the nature of their existence as corporations. In this case, when the company won't shell out, the check bounces back to the government (i.e., to taxpayers) if the corporation refuses to pay.

The problem with this is that corporations are NOT people. The problem with this is that women ARE. The problem with this is that religious freedoms apply to PERSONAL decisions and cannot--and must not--be used by corporations to control the health outcomes of people.

I urge you to hear the people of American who are speaking. There are approximately 318 million people currently living in America. Approximately 164 million of them (that's over half, by the way) just witnessed a collapse of their health rights. Please overturn this discriminatory ruling which hurts American women and helps no one.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]