On Monday, May 22 voter fraud wasn't the only thing being discussed by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. At their 4pm hearing in Grand Rapids the issue of reproductive rights was also on the table. At issue was whether or not employers in Michigan could exclude contraceptives from their health care plans. Several people spoke in favor of inclusion of contraceptives in employer health care plans while noone from the public spoke against the inclusion of contraceptives in health care plans at the hearing.
Five different women gave testimony on this issue. First, Emily Malloy with the Michigan Women's Commission spoke about how exclusion of contraceptives from an employer health care plan would be in violation of the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The other major point that Ms. Malloy made was that "if Viagra is included why not contraceptive drugs? This is an issue of equity, especially since contraceptives are extremely important as a preventative resource for women." The only Commissioner to question this position was Commissioner Albert Calille. Calille, appointed by former Governor Engler, does litigation work for Ameritech. Calille stated that "Viagra is for either a disease or a dysfunctional disorder in men, but that contraceptive medicine was not."
The next person to speak was Dr. Sharon Handy, someone with 22 years of medical practice. Dr. Handy said that coverage of contraceptives usually means oral contraceptives, which are "less than 5% of contraceptive uses for women." She also stated that even with the healthiest of women anything can happen during a pregnancy and that the argument from Comm. Calille was inaccurate since all women are at risk during pregnancies, therefore contraceptives should be seen as essential in any health care plan for women.
Shelli Weisberg from the ACLU also spoke about how the federal regulations require companies with 15 or more employees must provide contraceptives in the health care plan. Weisberg then noted that in Michigan about 60% of women in Michigan work for employers who have less than 15 workers. She also pointed out that according to the National Business Group on Health that coverage that included contraceptives was more cost effective when weighed against unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. The Commission also heard from a mother who recently found out that her health care plan did not include contraceptives for her daughter and another women spoke about how more than half of her friends have contraceptives in their health care plans because they need it for hormonal imbalances and prolonged bleeding.
The Commission then discussed the matter amongst themselves and consulted legal counsel who was present at the meeting. It was stated that the Michigan Catholic Conference has come out against including contraceptives in an employer health care plan. The Commission noted that religious institutions might have the right to dictate such matters in their health care plans if it is a violation of their religious beliefs. The Commission then decided to agree to adopt a draft resolution which would consider the exclusion of contraceptives from an employer health care plan as discrimination, but that further discussion and investigation was needed before a final version of such a draft could be adopted.
