Schiff calls Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling ‘setback for women’s health’
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), whose district office is located about a mile from where a Hobby Lobby store will open on Friday, criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the arts-and-crafts supply retailer to pay insurance covering contraceptives for its female workers.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby is a setback for women’s health and access to reproductive choice,” Schiff said in a statement in response to the 5-4 ruling.
The court ruled for the first time Monday that private companies had a religious right for exemption from federal law.
“By extending yet further attributes of ‘personhood’ to corporate entities, the court builds upon the flawed logic of Citizens United and elevates the rights of these artificial creations of state law over those the Constitution was meant to protect,” Schiff added.
In 2010, the court ruled in much-disputed Citizens United that corporations had a free-speech right to spend unlimited, independent funds on political advertisements, the Los Angeles Times reported.
By allowing for-profit corporations the right to exercise religion, company owners who object to the full contraceptive mandate won the right to opt out of the Affordable Care Act if they have a “sincere religious belief that life begins at conception.”
“The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has expanded access to healthcare for millions, and efforts to erode the scope of its healthcare coverage are a disservice to all those in need of comprehensive care,” he said.
The Okalahoma-based chain will hold a soft opening at its new store, located at 641 N. Victory Blvd., on Friday, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and official grand opening at 1 p.m. on Monday.
This is the 22nd location for the store, which is expected to bring 35 to 50 new jobs to Media City, company spokesman Vince Parker told the Burbank Leader in April.
Media representatives at Hobby Lobby declined to immediately comment on Tuesday in multiple emails and phone calls with the Leader.
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Follow Nicole Charky on Twitter: @NicoleCharky.
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