Democrats Focus in on Arizona’s Extreme ‘Tell Your Boss Why You’re On the Pill’ Bill

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week, the Tea-Publican Arizona legislature took up the "Baby Blunt Amendment" that doubled-down on crazy, permitting employers to terminate contraception users on "religious or moral objections" to their private life Arizona Senate Committee Endorses 'Tell Your Boss Why You're On The Pill' Bill.  

Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona wrote this opinion in response. Richard H. Carmona, M.D.: Arizona Effort to Block Contraception Simply Bad Health Policy:

A recent push to block women from getting access to contraception shows the Arizona legislature is not operating from an evidence-based or reality-based point of view.

The legislature's recent actions actively create problems rather than trying to solve them. And, at best, they are wasting our time.

Whenever I've had to make a major decision as a doctor, cop or for a company I've worked for, I ask myself: What is the value proposition here? Will my decision bring added value to the population I have the privilege to serve?

These questions are clearly not being considered by the folks I like to call the "chronic politicians" at our state capitol and in Washington.

We have real problems here in Arizona, and there are reasonable and politically possible solutions to them. But it's pretty clear that solving problems isn't what these politicians hope to do. Instead, they seem intent on scoring political points rather than solving the problem.

Trying to block women from getting access to contraception or defunding Planned Parenthood is completely nonsensical from a policy standpoint. As the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, I can say without hesitation that these bills would be bad for public health and deleterious to the health of women.

The fact is that a bill allowing any employer to deny insurance coverage based on a moral objection — along with giving an employer permission to ask for medical records showing why a woman is taking birth control — opens up a set of problems that I'm sure its sponsors have not fully considered.

Do any of us actually want to live in a world where your boss can decide that he or she is morally opposed to mental health care? What if your employer was morally opposed to getting x-rays or antibiotics? How about just being forced to disclose your private medical information to your employer? Does any of that sound like something you want to do?

I sure don't want to live with that system, and I'd be willing to bet that most Democrats and Republicans don't either. What we're missing in this conversation is any kind of commitment to thoughtful policymaking.

When you follow these proposals to their logical conclusion, they make absolutely no sense. It's only if you're being whipped into a partisan frenzy and shouting canned talking points that any of this stuff even appears to have legitimacy.

I understand and support the exemption for religious groups not wanting to be involved in certain practices. But as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, and now as a physician, I would want to ensure that — notwithstanding the religious exemption — all women who choose to do so have the opportunity to acquire comprehensive reproductive health care.

That's called finding a reasonable compromise – it's what our democracy is predicated on, our political leaders are supposed to do and what the people expect of us. There's nothing to compromise over with these bills the legislature is moving forward, and there's no legitimate policy reasoning behind them.

Richard Carmona is the 17th Surgeon General of the United States and a Democratic candidate for Senate in Arizona.

The Obama for America campaign is also focusing in on Arizona's extreme "Tell Your Boss Why You're On the Pill" bill. AZ/DC Blog – Obama campaign memo slams 'Romney-Arizona Tea Party agenda' on women's issues:

Here is the Obama campaign memo in its entirety:

To: Interested Parties

From: Mahen Gunaratna, Arizona Press Secretary, Obama for America

Date: March 19, 2012

Re: The Romney/Arizona Tea Party GOP Agenda Is Bad for Arizona Women

Last week, Mitt Romney announced that he would "get rid of" Planned Parenthood, showing just how far he is willing to go to pander to the most extreme elements of the Republican base.

Planned Parenthood is a vital health care provider for thousands of Arizona women, giving them affordable access to life-saving services like mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. This again shows the Republicans’ mixed up priorities – arguing to cut Planned Parenthood, which represents under .01% of the federal budget, while advocating tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

But unfortunately for Arizona women, this pandering to the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party doesn’t end with Mitt Romney.

Tea Party Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are pushing a bill, House Bill 2625, to allow all employers – not just religious institutions – to deny contraception coverage in their employee health plans. Women who work for employers that opt out of coverage would be required to disclose why they’re using contraception and share private medical information with their employers. Even worse, women who seek health coverage outside of their employer plan could be fired for no reason.

This is an assault on women’s health, led by the Arizona GOP and inspired by the Republican presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney, who already supports the extreme Blunt Amendment. Romney and Tea Party legislators are set on limiting women’s access to health care and seek to insert themselves in decisions that should be made between Arizona women and their doctors.

The public outcry has been swift, with even Arizona’s senior Senator John McCain voicing his opposition this weekend, remarking on Meet the Press that the legislation “does not reflect, in my view, the majority view of the people of Arizona . . . We need to get off of that issue, in my view. I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives.”

These are sentiments shared by women across Arizona and throughout the country.

It is clear that the Romney-Arizona Tea Party agenda is bad for Arizona women and that these Republican politicians cannot be trusted to stand up for women’s health care.