Health-insurance plans for Ohio's small and mid-size companies would be required to include coverage for the full range of women's contraception under a bill legislative Democrats will soon introduce. Called the "Not My Boss' Business Act," the bill comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling that said certain companies with religious objections cannot be required to offer coverage for contraception that owners equate with abortion.

Health-insurance plans for Ohio�s small and mid-size companies would be required to include coverage for the full range of women�s contraception under a bill legislative Democrats will soon introduce.

Called the �Not My Boss� Business Act,� the bill comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court�s Hobby Lobby ruling that said certain companies with religious objections cannot be required to offer coverage for contraception that owners equate with abortion.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde, D-Kent, said the new legislation in Ohio would prohibit companies from offering insurance that does not cover all FDA-approved contraception. She said 28 states have already passed a similar �contraceptive equity� requirement.

�The steps you take to live your healthiest life shouldn�t be anyone else�s business but your own,� Clyde said. �We believe it is discrimination to deny women this preventive care.�

The bill also would prohibit any employer from punishing or firing an employee based on that person�s use of contraception, or for having an abortion.

�No one should fear losing their job because of a personal health-care decision they made with their families and doctors,� said Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus, who will sponsor the Senate version of the bill.

Hobby Lobby covered most common forms of contraception, including birth-control pills. But it refused to provide coverage for contraception that focuses on stopping a fertilized egg from implanting, such as morning-after pills.

Ohio Right to Life opposes the bill because it would require insurance coverage for contraception that it equates to abortion. Spokeswoman Katherine McCann noted that Hobby Lobby agreed to cover 16 of 20 contraceptives, but not those that �kill fertilized eggs, which means they are killing unique life with unique DNA.�

�This isn�t going to go anywhere in a pro-life legislature,� McCann said. �This is a political tool that they�re going to use to cry �war on women� later in the fall and continue to propagate that myth.�

Critics of the Hobby Lobby ruling have argued it could lead to companies refusing to cover a wider array of contraception, including birth control pills that are used by many women for health reasons beyond an effort to prevent pregnancy.

The Ohio bill, like prior insurance mandates that have passed the legislature, would not apply to Hobby Lobby or other large, self-insured companies that fall under federal regulation. A similar bill has been introduced by Democrats in Congress, but last week it failed to get the 60 votes needed to move in the Senate.

�My ability to access the care that I need for my health should not be tied up in my boss� personal beliefs,� said Rashida Manuel of Cincinnati, a Planned Parenthood advocate. �This is not about personal beliefs. This is about health.�

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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