AZ’s Restrictive Birth-Control Bill

The Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday approved a bill that would allow employers to restrict birth-control access based on religious beliefs—and would allow employers to ask for proof of a medical prescription for women seeking contraceptives. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, said that “government should not be telling the organizations or mom-and-pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs.” Planned Parenthood Arizona president Bryan Howard said there haven’t been any complaints since 2002, when Arizona passed the Contraceptive Equity Law, which bans religious employers from denying employees birth control for noncontraceptive purposes.