Aftermath of the Hobby Lobby Decision: Implications for Women in the Workforce

Hobby Lobby is a chain of 640 arts and crafts stores owned by the Green family, based in Oklahoma City. This company is required to follow the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which mandates that larger employers—those with more than 50 employees—have to include coverage for the full range of preventative care, including contraceptives, in their female employees’ health insurance plans. However, the Green family holds deeply religious views and did not want to include four of the twenty contraceptives covered by the ACA, including long acting reversible contraception and emergency contraception, in their female employee coverage. The family believed that providing those contraceptives would go against their Christian values by making them complicit with abortion. Therefore, the Green Family challenged the contraceptive mandate in the landmark Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. by citing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993. This act prohibits the federal government from enacting laws that substantially burden a person’s free exercise of religion. A corporation like Hobby Lobby can be considered a person as well, due to a series of Supreme Court rulings from the past 200 years that have granted corporate personhood and rights. In consideration of the RFRA, the Supreme Court, in a highly controversial five to four decision, sided with Hobby Lobby, and declared that the contraceptive mandate was an unnecessary and substantial burden on Hobby Lobby’s exercise of religious freedom. All three female Supreme Court justices voted against the ruling, but were unable to change the outcome. The majority claimed that the ruling only applied to “closely-held” for-profit corporations run on religious principles; however, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the dissent, attacked the majority opinion as a careless decision that could apply to all corporations and numerous laws (Charo 1538). The immediate effect of this decision is on female employees in the workforce who are left to wonder why male contraception is covered while theirs is not. In addition, by dropping coverage of more expensive methods of contraception, Hobby Lobby is driving its female employees towards less expensive and less efficient methods, leading to more unintended pregnancies and abortions. This portrays the idea of a corporate world that is not interested in the well-being of its female employees. By the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, and by not providing certain types of long-acting reversible contraceptive coverage for women, corporations such as Hobby Lobby are essentially creating a hostile work environment for female employees

Aftermath of the Hobby Lobby Decision: Implications for Women in the Workforce

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is a landmark Supreme Court case in which it was ruled that the contraceptive mandate from the Affordable Care Act was an unnecessary and substantial burden on Hobby Lobby’s corporate exercise of religious freedom. This is the latest of many court cases that have expanded corporation’s rights to equal those of humans, giving them individual status without the responsibilities that come along with it. By citing religious liberty rights, closely held corporations such as Hobby Lobby can impose their religious viewpoints on their employees, specifically by not providing certain contraceptive care coverage. Other corporations are forcing women to choose between careers and families by imposing certain preventative care guidelines, such as egg-freezing methods among others. In order to determine the future implications of this case, I researched the history of corporate personhood, women and usage of contraceptive care, and gender-based workplace discrimination. My research shows that by not supporting female employees who have different health needs, Hobby Lobby sets up a model for corporations to be discriminatory towards women by portraying the idea of an anti-family and unsupportive workforce environment. In addition, the Hobby Lobby case has broader implications, with increasing corporate power causing economic and political ripples. Solutions can be found outside the US, by looking at European guidelines concerning women preventative services as a template. On the home front, the US Government should stand its on ground on the Affordable Care Act mandate concerning women care, by requiring all corporations to adhere to those rules through mandatory legislation, and the American Medical Community should properly inform physicians and patients of all contraceptive options, including Long-acting reversible contraception. This will allow women to be rightfully given access to the full range of preventative care services and a supportive and nurturing environment, and will also keep corporate power in check, preventing future possible cases of workplace discrimination.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1157/thumbnail.jp

Antibacterial Activity of Polymer Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles

Cerium oxide nanoparticles have found numerous applications in the biomedical industry due to their strong antioxidant properties. In the current study, we report the influence of nine different physical and chemical parameters: pH, aeration and, concentrations of MgSO4, CaCl2, KCl, natural organic matter, fructose, nanoparticles and Escherichia coli, on the antibacterial activity of dextran coated cerium oxide nanoparticles. A least-squares quadratic regression model was developed to understand the collective influence of the tested parameters on the anti-bacterial activity and subsequently a computer-based, interactive visualization tool was developed. The visualization allows us to elucidate the effect of each of the parameters in combination with other parameters, on the antibacterial activity of nanoparticles. The results indicate that the toxicity of CeO2 NPs depend on the physical and chemical environment; and in a majority of the possible combinations of the nine parameters, non-lethal to the bacteria. In fact, the cerium oxide nanoparticles can decrease the anti-bacterial activity exerted by magnesium and potassium salts

Antibacterial Activity of Polymer Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles

Cerium oxide nanoparticles have found numerous applications in the biomedical industry due to their strong antioxidant properties. In the current study, we report the influence of nine different physical and chemical parameters: pH, aeration and, concentrations of MgSO4, CaCl2, KCl, natural organic matter, fructose, nanoparticles and Escherichia coli, on the antibacterial activity of dextran coated cerium oxide nanoparticles. A least-squares quadratic regression model was developed to understand the collective influence of the tested parameters on the anti-bacterial activity and subsequently a computer-based, interactive visualization tool was developed. The visualization allows us to elucidate the effect of each of the parameters in combination with other parameters, on the antibacterial activity of nanoparticles. The results indicate that the toxicity of CeO2 NPs depend on the physical and chemical environment; and in a majority of the possible combinations of the nine parameters, non-lethal to the bacteria. In fact, the cerium oxide nanoparticles can decrease the anti-bacterial activity exerted by magnesium and potassium salts

Congenital Midline Nasal Masses: Diagnosis and Management

Congenital midline nasal masses (CMNMs) are rare lesions most commonly caused by dermoids, hemangiomas, nasal gliomas or encephaloceles. We report a case of nasal glioma and discuss the embryologic development, evaluation, and management of such CMNMs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73229/1/j.1524-4725.1990.tb00327.x.pd

The injury epidemiology of cyclists based on a road trauma registry

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bicycle use has increased in some of France's major cities, mainly as a means of transport. Bicycle crashes need to be studied, preferably by type of cycling. Here we conduct a descriptive analysis.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A road trauma registry has been in use in France since 1996, in a large county around Lyon (the Rhône, population 1.6 million). It covers outpatients, inpatients and fatalities. All injuries are coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Proxies were used to identify three types of cycling: learning = children (0-10 years old); sports cycling = teenagers and adults injured outside towns; cycling as means of transport = teenagers and adults injured in towns. The study is based on 13,684 cyclist casualties (1996-2008).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The percentage of cyclists injured in a collision with a motor vehicle was 8% among children, 17% among teenagers and adults injured outside towns, and 31% among those injured in towns. The percentage of serious casualties (MAIS 3+) was 4.5% among children, 10.9% among adults injured outside towns and 7.2% among those injured in towns. Collisions with motor-vehicles lead to more internal injuries than bicycle-only crashes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The description indicates that cyclist type is associated with different crash and injury patterns. In particular, cyclists injured in towns (where cycling is increasing) are generally less severely injured than those injured outside towns for both types of crash (bicycle-only crashes and collisions with a motor vehicle). This is probably due to lower speeds in towns, for both cyclists and motor vehicles.</p

Enhanced Visual Temporal Resolution in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Cognitive functions that rely on accurate sequencing of events, such as action planning and execution, verbal and nonverbal communication, and social interaction rely on well-tuned coding of temporal event-structure. Visual temporal event-structure coding was tested in 17 high-functioning adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mental- and chronological-age matched typically-developing (TD) individuals using a perceptual simultaneity paradigm. Visual simultaneity thresholds were lower in individuals with ASD compared to TD individuals, suggesting that autism may be characterised by increased parsing of temporal event-structure, with a decreased capability for integration over time. Lower perceptual simultaneity thresholds in ASD were also related to increased developmental communication difficulties. These results are linked to detail-focussed and local processing bias

Chronic disease risk among adults with cerebral palsy: the role of premature sarcopoenia, obesity and sedentary behaviour

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96337/1/obr1052.pd