On February 19, the Alabama House of Representatives passed The Religious Liberty Act of 2013 by a margin of 67 to 28. It is currently up for consideration in the Senate.

While the name of this piece of legislation has been hand-chosen to funnel wide-spread support, the intention of the bill is an exercise in both futility and oppression. Essentially, the bill would grant employers religious exemptions in paying or having insurance pay for contraception or abortions in direct violation of the federal 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

The Supreme Court already upheld the fundamental constitutionality of the PPACA in 2012, although it did determine eventual Medicaid expansion was too coercive for states to abide by.

This means that for Alabamians, your state is seeking to adopt legislation in direct violation of a federal law that has already been constitutionally vetted and upheld by the highest court in the land. This means that for Alabamians, if this bill passes, we will have to shoulder the burden of increased tax rates to pay for an inevitable legal battle which has already been decided. This means that for Alabamians, an employer’s religion magically dictates the medical decisions and health of employees – even if these employees practice different faiths entirely.

Religious freedom implies that citizens can adopt the freedoms of conscience and expression that their personal spiritual views demand. This does not, however, imply that the practice of one man’s religion can impede upon the rights of life and liberty for his employees.

If religious exceptions are granted in providing for healthcare, then a Jehovah’s witness can ban his employee’s insurance provider from offering emergency blood transfusions. A Scientologist boss can eradicate funding for a veteran’s psychiatric treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

And if Christians are implored to love thy neighbor as thyself, I for one believe that love includes the right of my neighbors to dictate their own health.

Matt Greenemeier is a graduate student in anthropology.

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