Here is a letter written by Debbie Lesko which was published in the Daily News-Sun. In this letter she is defending her House Bill 2625 which allows any employer to opt out of birth control coverage based upon their religious beliefs.
My comments are given in the quotation boxes. I am also providing her letter in it’s entirety once again but without my comments. Then you may read it straight through if you wish. This insanity needs to stop. Debbie Lesko is refusing to see the true damage this bill will cause and is now merely throwing hissy-fits (as in crashing a Democratic new conference) because so many people are opposed to this bill. And for very good reason. It clearly violates the First Amendment rights of the citizens and employees who reside with the state of Arizona.
My legislation to protect our First Amendment rights does one thing and one thing alone: It allows an employer to opt out of the current government mandate that forces them to include the morning after pill and contraceptives in their employee’s insurance benefits, if and only if, the employer has a religious objection. The current mandate, which has been highlighted by the Obama administration’s actions, forces employers to include the morning after pill and contraceptives in their insurance benefits even if it violates the employer’s religious beliefs.
Ah, yes. The morning pill. You clearly are opposed to abortion, which I have outlined in my open letter I wrote to you. Therefore, you are clearly forcing YOUR religious beliefs upon the citizens of your state. Did you place your hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution? Or did you place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible? Sounds like the latter to me.
Employers should not be forced by the government to do something against their religious beliefs. That violates their First Amendment rights.
Violates the employers First Amendment rights? What about the First Amendment rights of the employees? This bill clearly violates all employees rights by allowing their employer to decide what type of health insurance coverage their employee may based upon the employers religious beliefs. Ones religious beliefs must clearly remain ones own. By not providing this bill, the employer still has their own right to follow their own religious beliefs for their own personal self and family. No employer should ever be allowed to force their religious beliefs on anyone else – especially people who work for them.
My legislation does not authorize employers to ask or know about their employee’s contraceptive use, and it does not authorize employers to fire anyone for that use.
Your bill states, “”…subscriber… [to] submit a claim to the corporation along with evidence that the prescription is not in whole or in part for a purpose covered by the objection…” Does this not state that an employer must submit to their employer evidence – which would be medical records – in which the doctor states the medical reasons to take birth control? That’s what I read as do many others including professionals of law. Clearly a violation of HIPAA.
The Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations support my legislation. Under it, employers like St. Vincent De Paul, a Catholic-based charity, would be able to opt out of the mandate. Since the legislation was written with the help of a national legal organization that fights for religious freedoms, I believe it will withstand legal tests.
This is already taken card of by Obama in his S.2092 – Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012, You do not need to do so for the Catholic Churches. Therefore, you are doing this for personal reasons – which is not what you are in office to do . You are there to represent the citizens, not force your personal beliefs unto others in the form of bills and laws.
Ironically, most of the controversy surrounding my legislation revolves around language already in Arizona law for 10 years — language that I did not even introduce. Current law allows a woman who works for a church that has opted out of the mandate to have the medicine paid for if the woman uses it for a purpose other than birth control. The insurance company, not the employer, knows that information. The key is that I didn’t introduce that language in my bill. It is already in law and it will still be in law whether my legislation passes or not.
If you already have a bill in place which allows churches to opt out, then why this bill? Seriously… why? Oh, yes, I already answered that. You use the guise of creating a new bill by stating the purpose is to allow churches to opt out of coverage, when in reality, you want to allow any employer to opt out. Sneaky little devil.
I am not Catholic, and I do not have a moral objection to the use of contraceptives, but I do respect the right of those religious employers that do.
Again (oh, this is getting so redundant)… what about the rights of the employees????
Since I am a woman, I would never create legislation that takes away women’s rights. Women who work for religious employers will still be able to obtain medication somewhere else. Since Walmart sells it for $9/month, the cost may even be cheaper than the insurance co-pay itself.
This IS taking away the rights of all employee to receive insurance coverage for birth control. The cost is not a factor, and it is insulting you even brought that up. $9 a month for a very budget-tight family is a nights meal. If it is not that much in your book, then I suggest you pay for it for those who cannot afford the price themselves. Additionally, you are opening up a can of worms here. By allowing any employer to opt out of birth control due to their own religious beliefs, then this provides a foundation for any employer to opt out of covering any thing they may be opposed to, such as cancer treatment. There are many religious organizations which believe in the power of the “Word of God” and refuse medical treatment for cancer, leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis, and many other life-threatening or disabling diseases.
Thinking ahead is true wisdom, which you clearly are not doing. This bill is nothing more that a hate bill towards Obama and the Democratic party. A knee-jerk reaction which makes victims out of the citizens of your state.
If the government wasn’t forcing religious employers to do something against their religious beliefs, I wouldn’t be talking about this issue. But protecting our First Amendment right to freedom of religion is one of the most important things we can do. If we lose that, America’s future is truly lost.
Once again (oh, this really is getting very tiring), please see S.2092 – Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012.
It is unfortunate that some in the media are repeating distortions and untruths brought about by the opposition. I wish they would have called me or the lawyers that wrote it so they could report the truth. I guess that wouldn’t make a juicy story. Thank you to the media that are publishing my side of the story.
The media is not distorting the truths… you are. And I am happy to publish your side of the story so that I may dissect it and provide another point of view which represents a large amount of views from the people of Arizona. Basically, this allows me to put your lies out on the table for all to see, and hopefully you will not win your next re-election. And you really did not say anything different than what you did on CNN. You have memorized the script very well. Now, it is time for you to wake up, admit your bills has holes in it, and throw it out the window like dirty dish water.
House Majority Whip Debbie Lesko is the State Representative for LD 9.
Here is the once again in full, but with out my comments:
My legislation to protect our First Amendment rights does one thing and one thing alone: It allows an employer to opt out of the current government mandate that forces them to include the morning after pill and contraceptives in their employee’s insurance benefits, if and only if, the employer has a religious objection. The current mandate, which has been highlighted by the Obama administration’s actions, forces employers to include the morning after pill and contraceptives in their insurance benefits even if it violates the employer’s religious beliefs.
Employers should not be forced by the government to do something against their religious beliefs. That violates their First Amendment rights.
My legislation does not authorize employers to ask or know about their employee’s contraceptive use, and it does not authorize employers to fire anyone for that use.
The Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations support my legislation. Under it, employers like St. Vincent De Paul, a Catholic-based charity, would be able to opt out of the mandate. Since the legislation was written with the help of a national legal organization that fights for religious freedoms, I believe it will withstand legal tests.
Ironically, most of the controversy surrounding my legislation revolves around language already in Arizona law for 10 years — language that I did not even introduce. Current law allows a woman who works for a church that has opted out of the mandate to have the medicine paid for if the woman uses it for a purpose other than birth control. The insurance company, not the employer, knows that information. The key is that I didn’t introduce that language in my bill. It is already in law and it will still be in law whether my legislation passes or not.
I am not Catholic, and I do not have a moral objection to the use of contraceptives, but I do respect the right of those religious employers that do.
Since I am a woman, I would never create legislation that takes away women’s rights. Women who work for religious employers will still be able to obtain medication somewhere else. Since Walmart sells it for $9/month, the cost may even be cheaper than the insurance co-pay itself.
If the government wasn’t forcing religious employers to do something against their religious beliefs, I wouldn’t be talking about this issue. But protecting our First Amendment right to freedom of religion is one of the most important things we can do. If we lose that, America’s future is truly lost.
It is unfortunate that some in the media are repeating distortions and untruths brought about by the opposition. I wish they would have called me or the lawyers that wrote it so they could report the truth. I guess that wouldn’t make a juicy story. Thank you to the media that are publishing my side of the story.
House Majority Whip Debbie Lesko is the State Representative for LD 9.
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