McCain Comes Out Against Arizona Contraception Bill
An Arizona bill which could allow employers to fire workers for using birth control may be losing steam. Though a state Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the bill 6 to 2 and the bill has already passed the state House of Representatives, Republican Governor Jan Brewer now has reservations about making it a law.
Arizona House Bill 2625, written by Republican state Representative Debbie Lesko, would allow any employer, not just religious ones, to deny contraceptive coverage to employees if it conflicts with the employer's personal religious beliefs. In order to get reimbursed for prescriptions, women would have to prove to their employers that the birth control pills were being used for medical reasons other than preventing pregnancy -- and then pay an additional fee. If an employee refused to provide such proof, her job could be at stake.
Lesko says that the invasion of privacy is a patriotic protection of our First Amendment rights.
"I believe we live in America," she said last week. "We don't live in the Soviet Union. So, government should not be telling the employers, Catholic organizations, or mom and pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs."
One of the major problems with the bill is that it would apply to any employer and any religious beliefs. Though it's meant to address the Obama Administration's Affordable Care Act, the Arizona bill could, for example, technically allow Christian Scientists to force employees to pray for healing before reimbursing them for drugs or surgery.
Governor Brewer, whom many assumed would support the bill, says she isn't certain that she'd sign it because it could make women "a little bit uncomfortable" to have to justify their medical choices to their employers.
The Arizona bill is similar to the Blunt Amendment, which was recently voted down by the U.S. Senate. It would have allowed any employer or insurer to opt out of parts of the Affordable Care Act for moral or religious reasons. Senator John McCain supported the Blunt Amendment, but when it comes to reproductive rights in his home state, apparently he's a little more lenient.
"We need to get off of that [birth control] issue," he said when asked about the perception of a Republican "war on women" on NBC's "Meet the Press." "In my view, I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and make that clear and to get back onto what the American people really care about -- jobs and the economy."
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