It was a win against those who wish to deny a woman’s freedom of choice based solely on religious objections while denying the precedence of federal law. On Monday, March 18, 2013, federal district court judge Audrey Fleissig ruled that Missouri’s 2012 Senate Bill 749 is unconstitutional.
The bill, which added to Section A. Section 376.1199, RSMo, sections 191.724 and 376.1199, read that no individual or business can be compelled to purchase healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act in Missouri based solely on religious convictions because of its mandatory provisions concerning contraception coverage.
The statute stated that, “No governmental entity, public official, or entity acting in a governmental capacity shall discriminate against or penalize an employee, self-employed person, employer, health plan provider, health plan sponsor, health care provider, or any other person or entity… based on religious beliefs or moral convictions, [refuses] to obtain or provide coverage for, pay for, participate in, or refer for, abortion, contraception, or sterilization in a health plan.”
The National Atheist Party, which had supported court actions against SB-749, siding with Planned Parenthood and other women’s organizations, is pleased with Judge Fleissig’s decision, but knows the fight will not stop here.
NAP’s president Troy Boyle notes that 2012 SB749 is based solely on biblical reasoning, contrary to the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. “Ever since the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade affirmed a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy in 1973, the Christian Right Wing and Conservative elements have attempted to undermine, modify or overturn this necessary and socially responsible law. The National Atheist Party supports reproductive rights for women, and would not like to see a return to the days of back-alley abortions and unsafe practices.”
“This is not unlike more recent proposed actions by Missouri’s religious-right legislature in their attempts to nullify any authority of Article VI, clause 2 of the Constitution, that the laws of the United States government ‘shall be the supreme Law of the Land,’” said David Rosman, Assistant Missouri state chapter leader and lecturer on American religiosity. “Not to mention that the law could backfire on employers who deny contraceptive coverage to atheists and others not of the employer’s faith or sect, suing the employer for religious discrimination.”
Even the Missouri Chamber of Commerce has seen the error in the continual fighting against the Affordable Care Act. In yet another act - 2013 SB-346 - where Missouri legislators again question the legitimacy of the Constitution, federal government, and the Affordable Care Act, “Obamacare,” Chamber President Dan Mehan stated that he believes that the ACA “is bad policy in a lot of ways, but it’s reality. You move on. That battle’s been waged.”
The NAP understands that the State of Missouri or other religious or political entities can appeal Judge Feissing’s ruling, but will remain opposed to this and all other state laws that use religious beliefs as the basis for legislation. As of this writing, Mr. Koster has not indicated if he will take further action.
We urge Missouri’s Attorney General Chris Koster not to take any further action concerning this ruling, because this is a battle that cannot be won by the religious-right.
We urge the Missouri legislature to stop knowingly proposing laws that will be denied by the federal courts as unconstitutional. Such proposed legislation is nothing more than anarchism in the guise of wool-clad conservatism.
The National Atheist Party is a non-profit, 527 political organization devoted to issue advocacy and guided by the values of secular humanism and evidence-based reasoning. The party seeks to politically represent U.S. atheists and all who share the goal of a secular government by gathering the political strength of secularists nationwide. To learn more about the party, visit www.usanap.org.