Major Doctors' Group Endorses Hobby Lobby Override Bill
A doctors' association representing 90 percent of board-certified U.S. gynecologists has endorsed Democrat-sponsored legislation to override the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby birth control decision.
The Protect WomenÂ’s Health From Corporate Interference Act, introduced last week in the House and Senate, would prevent for-profit companies from opting out of covering the full range of contraception for their employees. The bill would effectively override the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which said closely held corporations should be able to claim a religious exemption from having to cover contraceptives to which they morally object.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a professional physicians' association with more than 55,000 members, said in a statement last week that it supports the bill because "a womanÂ’s boss has no role to play in her personal health care decisions."
“The value of family planning, including contraception, is clear," ACOG wrote. "It allows women to time and space their pregnancies, leading to more optimal health outcomes for mother and for baby. And it helps to prevent unintended pregnancy; in America, nearly one half of all pregnancies are unintended."
But the public benefits of contraception are useless if women cannot afford it, the group said.
“It is also essential that when an ob-gyn prescribes the appropriate contraceptive for each individual patient, he or she can trust that the patient will have access to that treatment option," wrote ACOG. "Restrictions to this access are an unnecessary, inappropriate impediment in the patient/physician relationship. By ensuring contraceptive coverage for workers insured under their employer-provided plan, this bill would put birth control within reach for more American women, regardless of their financial situation. This will improve the health of more women and families, and it will improve our overall health care system, as well."
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Major Doctors' Group Endorses Hobby Lobby Override Bill
Protect WomenÂ’s Health From Corporate Interference Act
ACOG Statement In Support of the Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act - ACOG
It's nice to see open-minded, influential, intelligent medical professionals providing such beneficial input without a religious slant. Healthcare should be secular. Period.