Thursday, July 24, 2014

Hobby Lobby & Hypocrisy


More like Ruth BadAss Ginsburg, am I right?!
The Hobby Lobby decision that came down recently infuriated me beyond belief.  I couldn’t believe the result and while I did enjoy Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent (RBG4EVA), I realized that forming coherent thoughts on the matter would take some time.  Yeah, I was that furious.  Much like I need time to form most well thought out commentary, I needed it even more for this one.  I’m attacking it from a couple different angles.  Let’s call them the “Angles of Suck,” because this is all the ways in which the Supreme Court and/or Hobby Lobby suck.

Angle of Suck 1: Corporations are more important than people.


Congrats to everyone who works for a big corporation (lots and lots of people), your medical needs no longer matter if they conflict with the religious beliefs of the organization.  Yes, it sounds snide and generalizing when I put it like that, but the SCOTUS opened that door so I’m putting my foot in it.  When personal medical decisions are deemed less important than corporate interest as this decision has said, it opens another door for corporations.  How much longer before big companies are going to start making excuses in order to stymie their employees’ personal lives?  Why stop at religion?  Let’s keep going.  I don’t like men who are blonde, so you can’t shop here.  Too bad for you.


Angle of Suck 2: Religiousness rules.


If a “family-run” corporation can say it is against their religion to pay for certain medical necessities for some women that are basically abortions (more on that later), then how long is it going to be before other religions refuse medical care?  How long until a Jehovah’s run business won’t pay for blood transfusions?  Or a Scientological organization won’t pay for medication for depression, ADD, or seizure disorders because they believe those diseases don’t exist?  Is it likely that Jehovah’s or Scientologists will own a business you’ll end up working for?  No, not at all.  But has a precedence been set?  Yep.  Let’s all the women start working for a very religious Muslim company and allow Sharia law.  Or Romans and feeding people to lions.  Or better yet, let’s stop hiring or allowing gay people to shop here.  We’re religious so what we say goes!  Gag.


Angle of Suck 3: “Just get a different job or work somewhere else.”


With unemployment and low pay as rampant as it is right now, I got really irritated when I heard this excuse.  “If they don’t cover it then just go work somewhere else.”  Right because jobs are so abundant right now?  I know a lot of people that if put in this position would be forced  to stay because likelihood of being hired elsewhere is slim.  But even with jobs, plenty of people are struggling to make ends meet because of low pay.  I make more than minimum wage, but I also live at home.  If I was out on my own and paying all of my bills on what I make, I’d be living paycheck to paycheck.  I’ve done that before.  It sucks.

Sounds about right...unfortunately.
Angle of Suck 4: IUDs and Morning After Pill =/= Abortifacients


What Hobby Lobby and also a lot of people don’t seem to understand is the difference between precautionary medicine and abortifacients.  Allow me to shed some light.  Precautionary medicine like the pill or IUDs or the Morning After pill stops an egg from being fertilized.  These are preventions from getting pregnant, not things that cause abortions once a woman is pregnant.  Abortifacients are used specifically to end a pregnancy once it has started.  I don’t understand why this is so confusing to people.  Especially the Morning After Pill.  It disrupts ovulation or fertilization, not end fertilization once it has happened.  In fact, the Morning After Pill isn’t effective if you’re already pregnant.  


Angle of Suck 5: The Gender Hypocrisy


While the owners of Hobby Lobby have made it known they are very pro-family and won’t pay for these supposed abortifacients, they have no objection to paying for vasectomies.  So if you have a penis, you’re okay.  But a vagina?  No, they don’t like you.  Actor George Takei has some great opinions on this whole debacle.


Angle of Suck 6: The Corporate Hypocrisy


While I no longer will shop at any Hobby Lobby, apparently many of their products say Made in China on the bottom.  I find this interesting, because such a “pro-family” company must realize the effect of the One-Child policy in China?  That Chinese officials used to force women to get abortions for violating the law or failing to pay the fine for violating the law.  While it doesn’t happen as frequently, it happens.  So why is such a “pro-family” company doing business with China?  Oh yes, for cheaper products made in terrible working conditions!  I’m so glad this “pro-family” corporation has their head on straight...thinking about money.  Not people.  Money.  Hobby Lobby is taking their religion and making an excuse for themselves, while they continue to do everything to make bank, like import from China where abortions are forced on women. Oh and then there's this, which I would love to know more about...

Hmmm, well that's interesting.

In conclusion, the Supreme Court made a really huge mistake in this decision.  It said corporations are more important that people, especially if religion is involved.  This choice opened a wide door for companies to get involved in their employees’ health care when really it isn’t any of their damn business.  Corporations and courts can get the fuck out of my vagina now!  Hobby Lobby lost my business and a lot of others as well.  And the best part is, they don’t even know what they’re talking about because they don’t know the difference between precautionary and abortifacient medicine.  Actually I think the best part is really the hypocrisy.  Because if you have a penis or cheap exports, it’s actually totally fine.

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