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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Robyn Shepherd, 212-519-7829 or 549-2666, media@aclu.org

Federal Appeals Court Hears First For-Profit Challenge to Contraception Rule

ACLU Brief States Employers Cannot Impose Beliefs on Workers by Denying Basic Healthcare

CHICAGO

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments today in two cases filed by for-profit companies, one a construction contractor and the other engaged in manufacturing vehicle safety systems, challenging the Obama administration's rule requiring employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend-of-the-court brief stating that the owners of Korte & Luitjohan Contractors and Grote Industries cannot impose their personal religious beliefs on employees by withholding coverage for health services with which they may not agree.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in a similar case brought by national craft supply chain Hobby Lobby tomorrow. That case will be heard en banc in the first instance. Two more cases will be heard in the coming weeks. The ACLU has filed support briefs in all of these cases.

"These cases represent an important moment as to whether anti-discrimination laws will extend to women's health," said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the ACLU. "Nearly every American woman uses contraception at some point in her life. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but just as religious objections to de-segregation were not an excuse for racial discrimination, private businesses cannot use religion as an excuse to deny basic health care to the women who work for them."

For more information on these cases, please visit:
aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/challenges-federal-contraceptive-coverage-rule

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666