Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) discussed legislation Wednesday introduced by him and Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) and Deb Fischer (R., Neb.) that would protect Americans' religious freedom while preserving women's access to contraceptives.
The Preserving Religious Freedom and a Woman's Access to Contraception Act would clarify that an employer cannot block an employee from legal access to her FDA-approved contraceptives, McConnell said, calling it a "common-sense proposal." He added it would ask the FDA to study whether contraceptives could be made available to adults without a prescription, as well allow women to set aside more money in their flexible spending accounts to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses.
"When it comes to decisions about contraception, both parties believe a woman should be able to make her own decisions," McConnell said. "Some on the other side would like to pretend otherwise. They think they can score political points and create divisions where there aren't any by distorting the facts. That's why their increasingly outlandish claims, claims one nonpartisan fact-checker described as 'simply wrong,' just keep getting debunked."
Republicans continue to insist lawmakers should be in the business of protecting everyone's rights, he said.
"We think that instead of restricting America's religious freedoms, Congress should instead work to preserve a woman's ability to make contraception decisions for herself," he said. "The legislation Senator Ayotte, Fischer and I filed yesterday would do just that."
Ayotte and Fischer penned an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on the Hobby Lobby decision upholding the company's religious freedom and the subsequent distortions made about it by liberal opponents:
The biggest distortion: the #NotMyBossBusiness campaign on Twitter which falsely suggests that under the ruling employers can deny their employees access to birth control.
That's flat-out false. Nothing in the Hobby Lobby ruling stops a woman from getting or filling a prescription for any form of contraception. Those who distort the court's decision insist that one cannot support religious liberty and also support access to safe, affordable birth control. But these are principles that we, and millions of others, support. Americans believe strongly that we should be able to practice our religion without undue interference from the government. It's a fundamental conviction that goes to the very core of our character—and dates back to the founding of our nation. The Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case, which protects rights of conscience, reaffirmed our centuries-old tradition of religious liberty.
Contrary to the misleading rhetoric, the Hobby Lobby ruling does not take away women's access to birth control. No employee is prohibited from purchasing any Food and Drug Administration approved drug or device, and contraception remains readily available and accessible for all women nationwide. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, prior to ObamaCare over 85% of large businesses already offered contraceptive coverage to their employees. And the ObamaCare mandate under review in the case doesn't even apply to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. For lower-income women, there are five programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that help ensure access to contraception for women, including Medicaid.