Action Alert: Arizona Senate to vote on contraception bill this morning

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senate President Steve Pierce allowed the "Baby Blunt" bill to go to the Rules Committee on Monday, and the bill is now scheduled for a vote of the Senate this morning.

The Senate will cast the final vote on House Bill 2625, which allows employers and insurance companies to opt out of covering contraception for religious reasons. 9:00 a.m. Senate floor, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

Planned Parenthood and bill opponents will host a rally outside the Senate at the same time.

Arizona Daily Star editor Sarah Garrecht Gassen has a signed opinion today that accurately describes what is occurring with this bill. Contraception debate is a false front for legislating one type of religion:

Cloaked in the false flag of "religious freedom," what's happening in our state Capitol, in the Republican presidential primary race and across the country is the disintegration of a person's human rights.

At its core, the conflict over including contraception in medical insurance coverage – where it belongs – is the push between the inherent right of every individual to decide, to the extent possible in any human endeavor, her future.

That doesn't have anything to do with the freedom of individuals to practice their faith. Just as the First Amendment does not protect Americans from hearing speech they find offensive, nor does it allow one religion to assert its doctrine over another.

And here we find Arizona, where a group of state lawmakers, convinced that they are defending "freedom," diligently endeavoring to require that all residents who receive health insurance coverage through their employer be subject to another person's religious beliefs.

The legislation would allow private employers – the owners of this newspaper, for example – to decide that contraception violates their religious or moral beliefs, and refuse to cover specific medical decisions.

Changes are under way to the bill, forced because of the public response against this overreach.

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While many religious people believe that contraception is against their god's law, others – including some Catholics – are equally affirmed in their faith that is it wrong to forbid a woman to use birth control if she decides it is best for her.

Should these Americans be denied their religious freedom? And what of people who belong to no organized religion, or those who do not believe in any higher power – their rights to medical care must also be protected.

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Buried within this focused debate is the core question: Is health care a human right?

Yes.

Every person has the right to receive medical treatment that is decided with his or her doctor and appropriate to that individual.

That right does not conflict with the freedom of Americans to come together with others to worship and to do so without the interference of the government.

And that is true religious freedom – the protected ability of every American to make personal decisions, free from interference by the state or another's religious beliefs.

Call your state senators now — urge them to vote against this War on Women in HB 2625.