Email Update: Hobby Lobby

Statement

I sent an email update on Tuesday to express my disappointment on the Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case. Join my e-mail updates now so you don't miss any in the future!

As you may have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court made an important decision yesterday regarding women's access to contraception -- ruling that some corporations may deny women access to certain forms of birth control.

I'm very disappointed by this decision. As a doctor, I believe health decisions should be between a patient and her doctor -- not her boss.

The Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case is a serious step backward for women's health.

It has the potential to not only impact many of the almost 3 million women in California, who saved an average of $269 last year on birth control, but sets a dangerous precedent where bosses are in control of their employees' personal health decisions.

While I respect the rights of others to have their own personal beliefs, bosses should not be able to impose those beliefs on their employees and prevent women from accessing a form of contraception that can minimize health risks, and permit planning for healthier pregnancies.

You can learn more about this ruling and what it may mean in a new editorial I just co-authored in the Sacramento Bee, along with my friend and medical colleague, Dr. Jeanne Conry, the former President of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In Congress, I'm fighting to make sure we expand -- not take away -- health care options for all women and families. That's why one of the first bills I introduced as your Congressman was the Women's Preventive Health Campaign Awareness Act.

My bill would launch a national public outreach campaign to raise awareness on the importance of yearly women's doctor's exams, which will help save lives and lower health care costs by finding and treating health problems early. Providing women with access to birth control and family planning services is a crucial part of this.

Women should be free to make the health care decisions that work best for them, and respect their own faith, family and personal circumstances. You can be sure that I will continue to fight every day to make sure that women -- not bosses, not politicians -- are in charge of their own health care.

Be well,
Ami Bera, M.D.
Member of Congress

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