Catholics Stand Up and Speak Out for Contraception and Freedom of Conscience in Amicus Brief for Zubik v. Burwell

Catholics for Choice joined nine other Catholic organizations in filing a “friend of the court” brief with the Supreme Court of the United States. The amicus brief lifts up the voices of the Catholic laity, workers, women, children and LGBT people who would be affected by the Supreme Court ruling in the Zubik v. Burwell case.

Zubik v. Burwell is consolidated with six other cases brought by members of the Catholic hierarchy and allied organizations in the latest round of challenges to the birth control provisions in the Affordable Care Act. If the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of the bishops’ demands, hundreds of thousands of employees at religiously-affiliated nonprofit organizations could be deprived of their conscience rights, religious freedom and access to healthcare.

Jon O’ Brien, president of Catholics for Choice and lead among the amici, said, “Where you are employed should not override your religious freedom nor limit your access to healthcare. The majority of Catholics use and support contraceptive coverage. The majority of Catholics support real religious liberty for all. The majority of Catholics would be disappointed by a ruling in favor of the bishops.”

Continued O’Brien, “We filed this brief because we are all concerned that if the bishops and their allies get their way, it will only be the beginning. The bishops have shown their desire to circumvent any law to which they object. If the courts rule in their favor, they could start opposing health insurance benefits for same-sex couples and their dependents, or refuse maternity leave to women who have children using in vitro fertilization, or deny gay and lesbian parents the right to adopt a child.”

Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a member of the coalition, said, “We believe it is absolutely essential that the petitioners not prevail in this case. We are already seeing employees in same-sex marriages being refused employment, fired and denied health benefits that are given to their colleagues—all on the basis of employers’ religious beliefs. We don’t believe the law supports this and hope the court upholds the equality of all employees.”

Jim Fitzgerald, executive director of Call to Action, a third member of the coalition, said, “The majority of Catholics across the country support equality, inclusivity and social justice. We join them in rejecting discrimination on the basis of sexual identity or conscience-based decisions about healthcare. We lift up the rights of workers to follow their God-given conscience when making deeply personal decisions around their reproductive health.”

“Catholics for Choice is proud to stand with our partners to represent the majority of Catholics who believe that imposing religious beliefs on others is wrong,” concluded O’Brien. “To use the Catholic faith to deny employees equal access to healthcare is not the freedom from religion guaranteed by our Constitution. What the bishops want is simply state-sponsored discrimination. We support the rights of the workers to follow their conscience when making a decision about contraception, and we oppose the hierarchy’s attempts to interfere with anyone’s personal decisions.”

Oral arguments for Zubik v. Burwell will be heard by the Supreme Court on March 23.

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