A bill passed by the Washington Senate prohibits employers with religious objections to birth control from keeping their workers from having medical insurance that includes that coverage if it also pays for maternity care.
The Senate voted 26-21 mostly along party lines to approve the Employee Reproductive Choice Act, which some lawmakers call the “Hobby Lobby” bill after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that featured that national retailer. The court ruled an employer could refuse that coverage based on religious views, and supporters of the Washington measure say the Trump Administration has said it would extend that to moral objections.
But Senate Republicans argued its an assault on people of faith and religious liberty of those who object to birth control.
Under the bill, an employer who doesn’t provide contraceptive coverage in health insurance with maternity coverage could be guilty of an unfair practice that could be investigated by the state Human Relations Commission or be the cause of a civil suit. The contraceptive coverage must be provided without extra cost.
The bill now heads to the House. (Spokesman-Review)
