birth control

by Sarah Lipton-Lubet, Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

It’s been 40 years since the Supreme Court protected a woman’s right to make a decision about whether to have an abortion, and some are still trying to take that right away. In the world of abortion politics that’s dismaying -- but certainly not shocking news.

It’s been longer still since the Court first protected the right to contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965. And while many of us in the reproductive rights movement have long known that our opposition is keen to limit access to birth control as well, that largely came as news to the public. Watching in disbelief, many turned to activism as the availability of affordable contraception was attacked time and again this last year. Indeed, recently national attention has been laser-focused on birth control -- whether women should have insurance coverage for it, and what to do about the objections of employers who want nothing to do with it.

The federal contraceptive coverage rule -- one of the greatest advances in women’s health policy in decades -- guarantees insurance coverage of birth control, with an exception for houses of worship. Right off the bat a small but vocal opposition came out swinging, arguing that the rule is an unparalleled violation of religious liberty. These groups did not only want a sweeping set of loopholes, they pushed -- and are still pushing -- for the rule to be dismantled altogether, so that no woman would have its benefits, no matter where she works.

by Jeremy Leaming

While some states work to advance equality, Maryland and Washington for instance recently enacted laws legalizing same-sex marriage, other state lawmakers unfortunately fritter away official time, frequently either infuriating constituents or reminding them of just how useless some of their actions can be.

For example, Missouri’s House Speaker Steven Tilley, as MSNBC notes, is working to induct the right-wing leader Rush Limbaugh into the state’s “Hall of Famous Missourians.” As MSNBC notes inductees are appointed by the House Speaker “and the bronze busts are paid for by the Speaker’s Annual Golf Classic” and then showcased in the capitol.

Limbaugh, from Cape Girardeau, has added to conservative backed efforts to make life tougher on women. National lawmakers, backed by Catholic bishops and right-wing activists, such as Limbaugh, continue to fight health care policy that will require insurance companies to provide contraceptives to employees of religiously affiliated institutions, such as colleges and universities.

When Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student, publicly supported the Obama administration’s health care policy of ensuring that workers at religious affiliated institutions receive adequate health care, Limbaugh went over-the-top, obviously not an easy feat for the radio host. Limbaugh took to the airwaves to spew invective against, Fluke, which prompted President Obama to call the law student praising her courage to speak out on behalf of health care policy, which riles a large swath of the nation’s conservatives.

But Tilley, a Republican, appears unconcerned about the timing of his action. The Kansas City Star reports that Tilley is moving forward with honoring Limbaugh. “It’s not the ‘Hall of Universally Loved Missourians. It’s the Hall of Famous Missourians,” he told the newspaper.

The newspaper notes that Progress Missouri is urging Missourians to join it in calling for Tilley to reverse his decision. The group’s website includes a call to action: “A Rush Limbaugh Statue in the Missouri Capitol? No. Freaking. Way.”