Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke issued the following statement about the oral argument in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2014.  These lawsuits, which are before the Supreme Court, will determine whether millions of women have access to comprehensive health care.

Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties want to prevent women from purchasing health insurance plans that provide reproductive health care, such as birth control pills and other forms of contraception. Under the Affordable Care Act, unless they meet certain exemptions, employers must provide reproductive health care as part of health insurance plans for their employees.

“Let us be clear: these lawsuits involve only the issue of whether women have the right to purchase a health insurance plan that includes reproductive health services. Under the Affordable Care Act, businesses are required to pay for such services, unless they meet certain exemptions,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who with ninety-three of her colleagues in Congress, filed an amicus brief in January urging the Supreme Court to uphold the right of women to purchase health insurance that includes reproductive health care.

Congresswoman Clarke continued: “These cases involve control. Will women have the right to control their health care decisions? Or will employers have the right to control the health care decisions of their employees?”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.