Arizona Endorses 'Tell Your Boss Your On the Pill' Bill

Bill says women must bring a note to work proving they need birth control

On Tuesday, an Arizona State Senate Judiciary committee voted in favor of a new bill that makes it ok for employers to deny their employees birth control unless they provide a doctor's note proving she is not using it to avoid getting pregnant.

If that confused, here is what the bill actually says:

Arizona House Bill 2625, authored by Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale, would permit employers to ask their employees for proof of medical prescription if they seek contraceptives for non-reproductive purposes, such as hormone control or acne treatment.

Lesko is also quoted as saying, "I believe we live in America. We don’t live in the Soviet Union. So, government should not be telling the organizations or mom and pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs … My whole legislation is about our First Amendment rights and freedom of religion.”

In case you didn't know, women have been using birth control medicine to treat everything from acne to menstrual problems. This bill will allow religious employers to deny health insurance to people who work for them who are getting the medicine to use it for its original purpose. 

Planned Parenthood of Arizona's Bryan Howard calls the bill "an attack on women’s health care."

This will put females working in Arizona between a rock and a hard place. If they work for a company with an anti-birth control stance (as if they have a sign on the door saying so) they can get fired if the company finds something on their medical record that they don't like. They can also get fired if they refuse to turn over their medical records altogether.

[ALSO READ: Black Women Talk Birth Control]