Tompkins County NOW and the Finger Lakes
Women’s Bar Association are co-hosting a panel discussion of the “Hobby Lobby”
case and implications for health care and civil liberties on Wed. May
28th at 7:30
in the Beverly Livesay Room of DSS
(320 W. State St., Ithaca, NY)
in the Beverly Livesay Room of DSS
(320 W. State St., Ithaca, NY)
The “Hobby Lobby” case – currently pending before the
U.S. Supreme Court – asks whether a corporation may refuse to include birth
control coverage as basic health care under the Affordable Care Act. Hobby
Lobby’s owners say that allowing access to certain forms of birth control
violates their religious freedom.
The U.S. Department of Justice contends that allowing corporations to
be excused from providing health care based on religious beliefs of the owners
would allow businesses to impose religious views on
employees.
The results of the Supreme
Court decision could go far beyond access to birth control. “It could be an
extension of ‘corporate personhood.’ It could expand the ability of employers
to impose their religious beliefs and practices on their employees,” said
President of Tompkins County NOW, Lori Gardner.
To discuss possible
decisions the Court might make and implications for health care and freedom of
religion, Tompkins County NOW and the Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association are
holding a forum with a distinguished panel representing perspectives from
constitutional law, social justice, and health care: Terry O’Neill, President of the
National Organization for Women (NOW) and former law professor at Tulane
University; Michael Dorf, the
Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School and a noted
constitutional scholar; and Leslie
Danks Burke, a Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of New York State
and an attorney whose practice has included civil rights
litigation.
