Blumenthal Calls on Hobby Lobby To Adhere To Connecticut Law and Offer Manchester And East Haven Employees Contraceptive Coverage

(Hartford, CT) - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today released a letter to Hobby Lobby CEO David Green calling on Hobby Lobby to adhere to Connecticut law and offer its employees in East Haven and Manchester full contraceptive coverage.

While the United States Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores grants the store the ability to limit health insurance coverage for a range of contraceptives, Connecticut law mandates that all health insurance coverage through group or individual policies must provide “coverage for prescription contraceptive methods approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.”

Further, Connecticut was at the forefront of one of the original U.S. Supreme Court cases, Griswold v. Connecticut, establishing an individual right to privacy and right to contraceptives. In that case, the Supreme Court found that a Connecticut state law prohibiting the sale of contraceptives violated the constitutional rights of women.

“Religious liberty is about the right to practice your own religion, not the right of bosses to impose religious beliefs on employees,” Blumenthal said. “I am calling on Hobby Lobby to do the right thing and provide full contraceptive coverage to its Connecticut employees. Connecticut residents have enjoyed a long history of respect for individual rights and I urge Hobby Lobby to comply with our state laws.”

Blumenthal has co-sponsored legislation that would overturn the recent Supreme Court decision, clarifying the clear intent of Congress to provide equal and broad health insurance coverage for all forms of FDA approved contraceptives.