01/07/2026
I (F27) was having a casual conversation with a coworker (M50s) and he brought up that the enrollment period for our company insurance was coming to an end and asked me if I had finished signing up yet. I responded by saying "Oh, I use my husband's insurance. Our company is opposed to reproductive rights and only covers birth control when mandated by law". He said something along the lines of "I guess you need some type of control" and we moved on to talking about the technical work that we were doing. Later in the afternoon I got an email from my boss (M26) and he said that I shouldn't talk about details of my personal life with my co-worker and it made people uncomfortable. My thought is that equal rights only happen when people are willing to make it a part of mainstream conversation. AITA for responding truthfully, but possibly with a bit TMI to a conversation started by my co worker, or should I have just kept it at "Oh, I use my husband's insurance" and not finished the sentence? Edit: There was one other person in the room when I made the comment (also M50s). My boss didn't say who, but my belief is that it is the other person in the room who made the complaint, not the one I was actually talking to. Edit 2: Wow, a lot more attention than I thought. First, a lot of questions about my work. I work for a hospital owned by a catholic conglomerate that employs about 125k people. I accepted the job when it was my only career related option for work, and it can be hard to leave. I wish I could work for someone with all the same ideals as I have, but then I would probably just be self employed. There are several people in my department who are openly non christian religions, and LGBTQ+. Just because it is a catholic organization does not mean it directly reflects the views of many of the employees. I spoke with my boss today. He was promoted from being my co-worker about a month ago and is still semi transitioning into his first management job. He apologized for his email without discussing with me and I apologized for my combative tone in the work place. He mentioned that our company policy includes harassments to include conversations that make people uncomfortable when they are within ear shot even if they are not directed at them (which confirmed my suspicion) but also conceded that what I said would not be considered harassment. I apologized for taking such a combative stance and said I will try to be more cognizant of my tone and audience in the future. He said that he never made an official statement to HR and was addressing this as a disagreement between coworkers. I also believe my other coworker's statement was a sort of "clumsy agreement" with me as I saw in the comments, not an attack at me, so I did not mention it. I have a summary of our conversation in email and saved. I doubt he handled it the best or most officially, but in the interest of an amicable work place, I have left it at that, have my documentation, and don't intend to follow it any further on my end.