Victory for Hobby Lobby: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Freedom

Below are a few comments and reviews of today's announced Supreme Court 5-4 decision regarding Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp.

Image via Heritage Action

Christine Rousselle, of Townhallcom summarizes: In a victory for religious freedom, the Supreme Court ruled today 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. in the case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (formerly named Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby

The case concerned the HHS Contraception Mandate, which mandated that employers provide certain forms of contraception at no cost to their employees.

While still a legal victory for Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., the decision is limited to closely-held for-profit corporations, not non-profits such as Little Sisters of the Poor. The decision is also strictly limited to the issue of the contraception mandate, not other medical practices.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion:
This decision concerns only the contraceptive mandate and should not be understood to hold that all insurance-coverage mandates e.g., for vaccinations or blood transfusions, must necessarily fall if they conflict with an employer's religious beliefs. Nor does it provide a shield for employers who might cloak illegal discrimination as a religious practice.Alito was joined in his opinion by Justices Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Kennedy. Kennedy also wrote a concurring opinion, detailing how the government already has programs in place to pay for birth control. Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissent, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Breyer, and Kagan.

Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. both claimed that the mandate violated their religious freedom. Both companies believe that certain forms of contraception induce abortion, which violates the religious convictions of their owners.

The Supreme Court is now adjourned until October.

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Miscellaneous Source Comments on today's SCOTUS decision:
U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA), newly elected House Republican Whip applauded today’s Supreme Court decision to defend religious freedom in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The Court decided that closely held corporations can opt out of providing contraception coverage as required under the Obamacare contraception mandate.“Today's Supreme Court ruling is a resounding victory for the Constitutional right of religious freedom,” said Scalise. “The Obama Administration clearly overstepped its constitutional authority by mandating that family-owned businesses would have to violate their personal religious beliefs under threat of federal fines just to comply with Obamacare. The contraception mandate violates one of the fundamental rights laid out by our Founding Fathers in the Constitution. I applaud Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood for standing up for the religious freedom rights of all Americans.”U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that closely held corporations with religious objections can refuse to pay for abortifacients in the case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby.“This nation was founded on the right to freely practice one’s religious convictions. Americans shouldn’t have to abandon those protections simply because they own a business. And yet, that is exactly what the Obama Administration tried to force on businesses like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga under this mandate. Thankfully, the Justices thought otherwise and preserved the right for business owners to object to overbearing government mandates that would violate their religious beliefs.”Boozman, a strong opponent of Obamacare, has long argued that the Obama Administration overstepped its authority by trying to force employers with religious objections to comply with a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that runs counter to their beliefs.

In October 2011, Boozman joined 27 other Senators in asking HHS to redraft the Required Health Plan Coverage Guidelines for Women's Preventative Service to make them consistent with the principles of respect for human life, individual liberties, and personal conscience.

On February 8, 2012, Boozman requested HHS take immediate action to reverse that decision. Additionally, he cosponsored S. 1467, the "Respect for Human Rights of Conscience Act," and S. 2043, the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," in the 112th Congress, which would have protected freedom of conscience and prohibited the government from imposing mandates on religious employers.

On March, 2014, Senator Boozman and U.S. Representative Randy Forbes (R-VA) authored a joint op-ed in National Review that argued the HHS mandate violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

Jim DeMint, President, Heritage Foundation said: "Conservatives won a victory today. This morning's Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case was a win for religious freedom, a win for limited government, and a crucial setback for Obamacare. For conservatives across the country, and anyone who supports the Constitution of the United States, today is a good day. This victory is a testament to Heritage’s 600,000 members across America who have continued to stand up for conservative ideas and timeless truths. But even as we celebrate, we must remember the wisdom of Heritage Founder Ed Feulner: In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats, only permanent battles."Kerby Anderson, host of the Point of View radio talk show, had this to say about today’s Supreme Court ruling:“I am thrilled that the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties. The government does not have the right to force companies to pay for abortion-inducing drugs. This was a victory for religious liberty and for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

“I am, however, disappointed that this was a narrow 5-4 ruling. And I am disappointed at the biased media coverage of this case. That is why we at Point of View will continue to fight for those issues that affect your faith, your family, and your freedom. We will tell the truth about what is at stake in issues affecting life, marriage, and family.”Family Research Council  (FRC) praised today's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding religious liberty and protecting the conscience rights of family businesses who object to being forced to pay for the coverage of sterilizations, contraception and drugs that have the potential to destroy an unborn child. FRC President Tony Perkins comments via a video

Gary Bauer, Campaign For Working Families, shared additional insights regarding today's decision:"Just to be clear, this case was not about contraception. The Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, did not object to contraception. An attorney representing the Green family noted that the insurance plan offered to Hobby Lobby employees covers 16 out of 20 forms of contraception -- just not the four abortion-inducing methods demanded by Obamacare. And, clearly, the Obama Administration believed it could demand even more.

"While we celebrate this victory, the fact remains that four justices on the Supreme Court, including the two appointed by Obama, evidently share his narrow view of America's first freedom and were willing to trample the religious liberty of millions of Americans in order to advance their radical pro-abortion agenda.

"This narrow decision, with four liberal justices eager to go the wrong way, is a stark reminder to every man and woman of faith that their religious liberty is hanging by a thread. That fact should turn each of us into an activist. If the wrong individual is elected president two years from now, and if we suffer through another four years of left-wing radicalism, the country given to us by our founders will be gone.

It would be a terrible mistake to assume that the battle over religious liberty is over. Quite the contrary. The left and its allies are attacking our values non-stop. Bakers, florists, photographers are being forced to participate in same-sex weddings. That fight is still very much alive and was not addressed in today's narrow opinion.

"The left has critical mass. The attack on faith is not coming from just big government. Remember how the business community forced Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto legislation protecting religious liberty? We must remain vigilant."

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