Using Religion to Discriminate

With increasing frequency, individuals and institutions are attempting to claim a right to refuse to provide services or care based on religious objections. For instance, religiously affiliated hospitals could refuse to perform medically necessary abortions for pregnant women in life-threatening situations, or a landlord could refuse to rent to a family simply because they are Muslim. Through litigation, advocacy and public education, the ACLU works to defend religious liberty and protect people of all faiths from religious discrimination. Learn more >>

04/11/2012

Using Religion to Discriminate

Whose Religious Freedom?

By Louise Melling, Center for Liberty at 5:32pm

The freedom of religion and belief is one of our most cherished liberties. The First Amendment protects our right to believe whatever we choose. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) would like you to think this right is in peril. As defenders of the Constitution, we beg to differ, and think that some of the recent controversies actually show that the First Amendment is doing its job, and confirm that religious freedom in America is alive and well.

03/27/2012

Using Religion to Discriminate

Victory! Court to Bishops: Federal Help for the Most Vulnerable Should Have No Strings Attached

By Andrew Beck, Reproductive Freedom Project at 12:27pm

Once again the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has attempted to impose its religious beliefs on those who don't share them. This time, they did so in an attempt to deny victims of human trafficking access to reproductive health services in a federally funded program.

Fortunately, late Friday night, a federal judge ruled that religion isn't a license to discriminate and that the government cannot award a contract to an organization that denies services to trafficking victims based on the organization's religious beliefs.

03/14/2012

Ultrasound Bill

New Doonesbury Strip Illustrates "Lunacy" of Humiliating Anti-Abortion Laws

By Danielle Aronson, ACLU at 3:15pm

It seems that some newspaper editors think that a "10-inch ultrasound wand" does not belong in the funnies section of their papers — and their reluctance is getting national attention. The comic that is causing the uproar is Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury. Several newspapers around the country have decided not to publish the popular satirical comic this week because of a storyline dealing with those now-infamous ultrasounds.

03/12/2012

Birth Control Coverage

Use Birth Control? You're Fired!

By Jennifer Dalven, Reproductive Freedom Project at 6:36pm

No joke: A bill pending in Arizona would give your boss the green light to fire you for using birth control.

03/12/2012

Emergency Contraception

Not Again: Two More Pharmacies Refuse to Sell Emergency Contraception to Men

By Chara Fisher Jackson, ACLU of Georgia & Olivia Turner, ACLU of Alabama & Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project at 3:30pm

It feels like we are banging our head against a wall. In recent years, pharmacies in several states have refused to sell emergency contraception ("EC") to men. We've recently learned of two additional incidents — both at Walgreens — in Georgia and Alabama. The discrimination in the Georgia and Alabama stores followed the same pattern that we've seen in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi: a man attempts to purchase the medication for his female partner only to be confronted by a pharmacist who refuses to sell him the medication for the sole reason that he is a man.

02/17/2012

Contraception

Wanted: Women on Birth Control, Not Men on Ham Sandwiches

By Sarah Lipton-Lubet, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Dena Sher, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:17pm

Yesterday's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the new HHS rule that requires insurance plans to include birth control with no co-pay (except for those held by churches or religiously affiliated nonprofits like universities) has caused quite a stir. A few observations:

02/17/2012

Contraception

Thank You, Mr. President, for Protecting Our Liberty

By Kimberly Humphrey, Washington Legislative Office at 5:06pm

One thing is clear as the bickering on contraception continues — the Obama administration is standing up for women's rights in a big way. Unfortunately, that story has been overshadowed by an attempt to redefine the meaning of religious liberty in our country.

This great contraception debate has kept me up at night contemplating my own rights. Did I trade in my ability to make decisions about my own life when I enrolled at a Catholic law school? That was certainly not my intent. I took no oath, made no promises, and signed no document that said my attendance comes with a commitment to the tenets of Catholicism.

02/16/2012

Birth Control Coverage

Contraception Mandate Doesn't Break New Ground

By Sarah Lipton-Lubet, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:55pm

In the past several weeks, as a nation, we’ve been hit by an endless barrage of commentary on the new rule requiring insurance companies to cover contraception with no co-pay. Who would have thought that in 2012, contraception — something 98 percent of women use at some point in their lives — could set off such a firestorm?

Last week, the Obama administration offered a solution that we hope calms the embers.

02/11/2012

Birth Control Coverage

Why the Contraception Mandate Matters

By Dara at 1:15pm

An employee at a religiously affiliated nonprofit writes about the struggle to get her employer to cover contraception prescribed for conditions like polycystic fibrosis and dysmenorrhea.

02/10/2012

Contraception

Modified Birth Control Rule Should End Controversy (But It Probably Won’t)

By Alicia Gay, ACLU at 3:30pm

The administration's actions should lay to rest arguments that religious liberty is under attack in this country.

American Civil Liberties Union