Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Issues Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:

“A woman’s access to quality, affordable preventive healthcare coverage should not depend on her employer’s beliefs. Every woman should be able to make healthcare decisions for herself and her family. I am deeply disappointed that the Court ruled to limit this important right.  

The decision also opens a perilous loophole that may enable private, for-profit companies to challenge other common-sense laws—including those that protect against discrimination—based on the religious beliefs of their shareholders or managers.”

In January 2014, Attorney General Harris was joined by 13 states and the District of Columbia to file a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit which held that for-profit businesses may exercise religion and therefore are covered by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.