Reproductive Health Archives - American Atheists

Little Sisters’ Supreme Court Case Could Grant Religious Groups Carte Blanche to Ignore the Law

American Atheists — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 22:19:46 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Today, American Atheists joined other secular organizations in filing an amicus brief in the Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania case, one of the most important religious exemption cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this term. In the 2016 Supreme Court case Zubik v. Burwell, religious organizations, including Little Sisters of the Poor, challenged the religious accommodation that had been carved out of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate. In order to exempt themselves from the obligation to provide health insurance that included no-cost contraception coverage, religious organizations were required to notify the government that they wished to be exempt by completing a half-page form. Little Sisters of the Poor, among others, argued that even this involved them too much in the “sin” of reproductive health. Now Little Sisters of the Poor and its cohorts want a second bite at the apple. In its current case against the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Little Sisters of the Poor alleges, once again, that merely providing this notice to the government is a “substantial burden” on their religious exercise. “What Little Sisters of the Poor is asking for is an exemption from an exemption—one just for religious groups. To claim that signing a piece of paper is a burden, let alone substantially burdensome, is absurd,” said Geoffrey T. Blackwell, litigation counsel at American Atheists. “Little Sisters of the Poor do not have the right to dictate how the government will administer that exemption.” According to well-established precedent, a religious person or group must always provide the government with notice in order to avail themselves of a religious exemption. Conscientious objectors wishing to forgo combat must file a claim of religious or philosophical objection. Religious adherents wanting to drink hallucinogenic tea ceremonially must file for an exemption or may face criminal penalties. Parents who choose to remove their children from school on religious grounds must inform school officials, or else they could be charged with a misdemeanor. “Little Sisters of the Poor’s claim that filing paperwork somehow involves them in sin and distant complicity makes no sense,” added Blackwell. “Even if the Little Sisters of the Poor truly believed this, the Court can and should find that mailing in a piece of paper is in no way a ‘substantial burden’ on anyone’s religious expression. Were the Supreme Court to rule otherwise, the term ‘substantial burden’ would lose all meaning and the Court would open the floodgates to ever more absurd claims.” “Behind Little Sisters of the Poor’s sugarsweet veneer lies the ideologically driven desire to deny every woman in America the right to access contraceptive coverage,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “Religious employers have every right to police their own bodies, but not those of their employees.” “Religious groups must follow the law. To allow them to demand an exemption from an exemption would make our democracy wholly unworkable,” he added.

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Let’s Not Forget the Trump Administration Has Spent Years Attacking Public Health in the Name of Religion

Alison Gill — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 15:57:27 +0000

Last week, Donald Trump announced his intention to reopen the United States by Easter despite health experts’ warnings (although he’s since walked back his comments). “It’s such an important day for other reasons,” Trump said in an attempt to ingratiate himself further with his evangelical base, imbuing this deadly decision with religious significance. “I just think it would be a beautiful timeline.” And it’s no coincidence that the President’s religious extremist supporters echoed this anti-science position. R.R. Reno, editor of the influential religious magazine, First Things, advocated for pulling the plug on life-saving coronavirus safety measures. “There is a demonic side to the sentimentalism of saving lives at any cost,” he wrote in a recent opinion column. “There are many things more precious than life.” Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of one of the largest evangelical universities in the world, demanded that Liberty University students return to campus, endangering their lives, as multiple students have either been quarantined or tested positive for COVID-19. And then there are defiant churches in Louisiana, Colorado, and elsewhere that are openly bucking public health recommendations, as they purposefully draw in large crowds with the promise of healing. The White House has shown support for these efforts through Tony Perkins, head of the Christian nationalist group Family Research Council. In this light, Trump’s statement that “it’ll be a beautiful time [to] have packed churches all over our country” makes perfect sense. But this is not the first time President Trump has undermined public health to win approval from his religious extremist backers. We must not forget that Trump and his appointees have spent the last three years doing everything they can to attack our national health care. For example, just within the last year: In March 2019, HHS issued a final rule giving preference to religious organizations to receive funding for Title X family planning programs. This program is a vital source of health care for low-income, rural, and minority women, and the new rules have pushed out important providers like Planned Parenthood in favor of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers.” These fake health centers are more interested in advancing their religous, anti-abortion agenda than serving the health needs of women. In May 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule to let health care providers and institutions deny care to patients based on religious beliefs. Later vacated by a federal court after legal challenge, this rule threatened the health, safety, and well-being of millions of Americans, as it would have allowed discrimination against vulnerable groups, such as LGBTQ people, people with HIV, women, and elderly people. In June 2019, HHS proposed a rule to strip protections for trans people from the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination regulations. Then in November, HHS simply decided to stop enforcement of critical civil rights protections in grant programs allowing organizations receiving health and human services grants—totalling more than $500 billion annually—to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, and religion. In December 2019, HHS published a final rule that requires health insurance offered through a state exchange to separately bill any costs relating […]

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Atheists: Students Deserve Comprehensive Sexual Education

American Atheists — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 14:00:20 +0000

Olympia, Washington—Today, American Atheists, on behalf of its nearly 1,500 constituents in Washington State, submitted testimony supporting SB 5395. This vital measure would require that schools provide comprehensive sexual health education for students in Washington. Currently, 20% of schools in Washington offer no sexual health education or less than one hour of instruction. Religion is no excuse to deprive children of sex ed or to only provide them with abstinence-only sex ed. SB 5395 would give all students access to evidence-informed, medically accurate instruction about their sexual health, allowing them to make well-educated decisions about their lives to become thriving adults. In addition, the bill requires that the curriculum be inclusive for all students covered by Washington’s non-discrimination law, ensuring that vulnerable students who may be less likely to receive sexual health education, such as LGBTQ young people, are proactively included.

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Atheists Submit Testimony Supporting Religion-Free Sex Ed in Colorado

American Atheists — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 16:46:00 +0000

Denver, CO—Today, American Atheists, on behalf of its more than 1,000 constituents in Colorado, supported HB 1032, the Colorado Youth Wellness Act. This vital measure prevents schools from providing misinformation to students based on religious doctrine. HB 1032 protects students from religious coercion by prohibiting sexuality education programs from explicitly or implicitly endorsing religious tenets and doctrines. It also prevents programs from using gender stereotypes and excluding information about LGBTQ people. Sexual health has a profound impact on both public health and individual well-being. This bill will help to ensure that all students receive information based on facts, not religion, so that they can make informed decisions about their lives. Read our full comments below.

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Oppose the Domestic Gag Rule

American Atheists — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:19:46 +0000

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed new rules which would ban health care professionals that receive federal funds from providing full and accurate medical information about abortion services. Not only would this rule continue the ban on federal money funding abortion, it would ban providers who receive federal money from even talking about abortion or referring patients to other doctors. This federal money, called Title X funding, is intended to allow health care providers to offer preventive and family-planning assistance for millions of patients annually. Now, the Trump administration wants to force doctors to lie to their patients in order to receive Title X funding. The proposed rule (known as the Domestic Gag Rule) does nothing to improve health care for patients. Instead, it limits options for women and requires doctors and nurses to conceal information and lie to the people who are counting on their medical advice — for no other reason than to appease religious extremists. Help us challenge this rule by telling HHS that you oppose it using the form below! This rule would undermine women’s rights and put families at risk. Patients cannot possibly make informed choices about their health if they’re only getting half the facts. The Trump administration is holding medical funding hostage and demanding that doctors and nurses mislead their patients. But together we can fight this attack on patients and the rights of medical professionals. July 31 is the deadline for us to send as many comments as possible to HHS. If you or someone you know relies on Title X health care, please share your story when you comment on this rule. If you’re a health care professional, let them know why you think this rule is wrong! Share this message with as many friends as possible to spread the word! No one should be denied access to comprehensive, accurate medical care due to someone else’s religion. Doctors and nurses should not be required to conceal legitimate medical services from their patients in order to receive federal money. Please take action now — people’s lives depend on it.

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