A Response to the Supreme Court from an Educated Free-Thinking Modern American Woman

First, this is simply my opinion. In no way do I intend to state that my opinion is right, nor do I intend to imply that those with other opinions are lacking intelligence or are in some way wrong. Furthermore, if I have missed the boat on something or am really just not seeing things clearly, please feel free to correct me.

For those that haven't read any articles on this yet, I've included some links below. I tried to look for the most reputable sources, which was a lot harder than it should have been.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/30/326926331/companies-can-refuse-to-cover-contraception-supreme-court-says

 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hobby-lobby-wins-contraceptive-ruling-supreme-court/story?id=24364311

I believe a very dangerous precedent has been set in our country today. As a woman and a mother to two young daughters, this makes me afraid for the future of their rights. To be a little dramatic, our country has been set back about 75 years. That's 1938, I did the math.

My first point is that to me, this is not about religious freedom. I fully support the freedom of religion, and I agree with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 that states the government not infringe on religious beliefs "unless that action constitutes the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest." I believe all people should be able to celebrate their chosen religion without fear of negative consequences. And yes, this means that if I saw a Muslim praying in my back yard, I would wait until he was finished and then offer him some coffee and cookies, dammit. It comes down to being a decent human being.

What I don't understand is how this can be considered a win for religious freedom when the companies in question are actually forcing their religious beliefs on their employees. As my husband said, then don't work there. Okay. Done. But the Supreme Court has said that this is okay. This is what scares me.

While the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. do in fact have sincerely held religious beliefs (that is not in question), I wonder how long it will be before other companies miraculously have those same kinds of beliefs. I bet a few large companies are already drafting petitions to be included in this declaration so they simply don't have to pay for their employees' contraception. Where is the line drawn for which companies this applies to? How can you say yes to two companies and not others? When you brought treats into the classroom, did you bring enough for everyone?

My second point has to deal with the contraceptives themselves. For those that haven't read anything on this, the companies are not refusing coverage of all contraceptives but rather only four. These four types may have the effect of preventing an already fertilized egg from developing any further by inhibiting its attachment to the uterus. Given their religious beliefs, I completely understand why they would want to do this.

I understand it, but I don't accept it. A woman's decisions (good, bad or otherwise) are her decisions. Let's play a little game to prove a point.

Scenario 1: A young woman, after a night of drinking, sleeps with a man. Upon waking up, she realizes that no protection was used. Not even remembering the name of the man, she quickly heads to the drug store and picks up a Plan B pill. A few weeks later, she is reassured that she is not pregnant.

Scenario 2: A man and woman who are in a committed relationship wake up to find a broken condom. Having already decided that they are not ready for children, the woman takes a Plan B pill. Again, after a few weeks, they are relieved to know they will not be parents soon.

Scenario 3: A woman has unprotected sex with her husband. Unfortunately, this woman is also terminally ill. At the fear of having child that might not survive, she takes a Plan B pill.

So what do you think of these women? Do you view them differently? How do you feel about their experiences?

Trick question. Unless that woman is your daughter, significant other, friend or family member, your feelings don't matter and aren't necessary.

So why do these companies care what their employees are doing in their extremely personal lives?

My third point is that this debate over contraception is actually a symptom of a much larger problem we have in our country. I've heard horror stories about young people that didn't understand that sex leads to babies. We have sexual education in school, but it's clearly not doing jack crap. Sex in the United States is both taboo and sensationalized. We want to be sexy and sought after like celebrities and the rich. We have an incredibly hard time differentiating between sex and sexiness.

There is much debate about abortion and contraception and how we handle things after-the-fact. We are stuck in a reactive rut when it comes to sex. The biggest question we should be asking is What can we do to help decrease these unwanted pregnancies from even happening.

Offering contraceptives for free is a great start. Some women also need the health benefits of contraceptives and use it for this primary reason instead of preventing pregnancy. A more novel - and shocking - idea is to talk about sex. Sex leads to a number of things: emotions, diseases, and babies to name a few. Sex is tricky in this day and age and to not talk about it has proven to be detrimental. Instead of learning about sex from movies (because it never happens like that), we need to accept that we are a sexual country and deal with it accordingly.

If my son came home from high school one day and informed me he had impregnated a girl because he didn't know what he was doing, I would feel like I had failed him. Not because he got a girl pregnant, but because I didn't educate him on the emotions he was having and the consequences of those emotions being carried out in physical action.

This is not to say that simply talking about sex will prevent people from being irresponsible. That's where the contraception comes in. When it comes to abortion, that's a topic I'd rather not discuss (right now). However, if we can be responsible enough to use the knowledge we have without fear, we can greatly reduce the need for morning-after pills and abortions. And you can call me crazy, but maybe addressing the root cause instead of arguing with gavels and religious writings in hand all day might produce a little more progress.

I will be curious to see where this goes in the coming weeks and what impact it will leave in the coming years. I wonder if there will come a day when a woman as to decide where she wants to work based on their religious beliefs. This also doesn't just apply to Christianity either. Did you know that Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. are Mennonites? This shouldn't matter, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 does not distinguish between religions. Does this mean that a company owned by a Muslim family can force their employees to participate in daily prayers?

Okay, maybe that's a little extreme.

Or is it....? Again, when the Supreme Court brought treats for the class, did they bring enough for EVERYBODY?