Hobby Lobby, the family-owned chain of arts and craft stores founded on Biblical principles, may have gained some ground in the religious freedom fight yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled corporations can refuse to provide health insurance coverage for birth control.
But the newest enemy in the fight to limit women’s reproductive rights also exhibited some hypocrisy too patriarchal to ignore — the chain will cut contraceptives, which they claim destroy human life by interfering with a fertilized egg, but continue to cover vasectomies and Viagra.
You heard that right. The evangelical Christian corporation who vehemently denounces abortion will continue to help its male employees obtain erectile perfection, while prohibiting women who encounter those erections from obtaining emergency “morning after” pills or intrauterine devices that prevent pregnancy.
And if you know anything about sex, it leads to pregnancy. And sometimes pregnancy leads to abortions. Which women can barely obtain due to a Supreme Court ruling last week that made it legal for pro-life advocates to abuse, scare, and threaten women who choose to visit a clinic…if there’s one even open in your state.
Talk about full circle. It makes sense, if your views fall in line with Hobby Lobby’s. Catholic groups usually draw the line on providing coverage for contraceptives, but foot the bill for erectile dysfunction drugs or Viagra, since procreation is a pillar in religion.
From the Huffington Post:
Last year, a federal court granted Catholic groups the right to opt out of providing coverage for contraceptives that they equated with abortion or sterilization, such as IUDs and vasectomies. But the groups were happy to foot the bill for treatments that could lead to procreation.
Julie Rovner, a reporter at NPR, wrote a blog post in February 2012 explaining where Catholic groups drew the line on sexual health coverage:
The answer on Viagra coverage is usually yes, Catholic leaders say. And they argue that’s neither hypocritical nor sexist. Procreation is something the Catholic church encourages. And Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs can be of help.
As for Hobby Lobby’s decision to keep vasectomies, which are clearly a form of sterilization? Nobody knows. The corporation has yet to comment on the inclusion of vasectomies in health care coverage, but something tells us it has a lot to do with controlling our wombs because…misogyny.
For a list of the 82 other companies that may follow Hobby Lobby’s lead and drop contraceptive coverage, click here.
SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
