More good news during Women’s History Month: the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals just found that Union Pacific’s health insurance plan – which includes no contraception or pregnancy planning coverage – is not discrimination based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on gender.
The logic was that the health insurance plan doesn’t cover condoms, either, so it’s not discriminatory not to cover anything for women.
But, duh, MEN CAN’T GET PREGNANT.
US Judge Kermit Bye, the lone dissenter, objected to this logic because Union Pacific’s contraception policy only affects preventative care for women. Because men cannot become pregnant, it makes sense that the health care plan does not cover pregnancy prevention for men. Therefore, Judge Bye found that while the policy might be “officially gender neutral,” it is still discriminatory, according to the Associated Press.
But here’s the real kicker: the Union Pacific plan does cover Rogaine and Viagra.
So the guys have health insurance for their full heads of hair and hard dicks, because you know, those are important and vital medical concerns, but the women of UP can’t take birth control to prevent pregnancy, because, you know, that’s a minor matter and hardly important to a woman who works for a living.
If this is Women’s History Month, then I suppose we all should have worn orange on St. Patrick’s Day.