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Women’s rights advocates protest Supreme Court ruling on birth control

For nearly an hour Tuesday morning, dozens gathered around Penn Square, in Lancaster holding bright signs that read “Not my boss’s business”  ...
For nearly an hour Tuesday morning, dozens gathered around Penn Square, in Lancaster holding bright signs that read “Not my boss’s business”  The people protesting say they should be allowed all options when it comes to birth control coverage.
Around 30 men and women rallied in Penn Square.  Representatives from Planned Parenthood Keystone, the YWCA and a reverend spoke.  They say they feel arts and crafts retailer, Hobby Lobby, and Lancaster County business, Conestoga Wood, are discriminating against women’s birth control methods.  The corporations challenged a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that required companies to provide free contraceptive care for employees.  The ruling applies to two forms of birth control, including emergency contraception, known as Plan B, and Intrauterine Devices, known as IUDs.  Both companies argued the mandate went against their religious beliefs.  In June, the Supreme Court ruled in their favor.
Kim Custer is the CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone.  She says, “You can have faith without imposing your faith on someone else.  The Affordable Care Act at no point requires a woman to use birth control, it simply makes it available to women who want to make that decision for herself.”
Randall Wenger represents the Pennsylvania Family Institute and he’s an attorney for Conestoga Wood.  He says, “Whether people are pro-life or pro-choice, whether religious or not, we all want to live in a land where the Government isn’t telling us to do things that violate our most deeply held convictions.”
Planned Parenthood has been providing birth control to women for almost 100 years.
Those who are pro-choice are concerned women with low-paying jobs won’t be able to pay out-of-pocket for the not covered birth control options.
U.S. Senator Bob Casey is among Democrats and 3 Republicans who tried to reverse the ruling last week.  Their bid failed.  The ruling remains.

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