In one of the most contentious cases in recent memory, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the government cannot force companies to provide birth control or abortifacients to their employees if they object to the requirement on religious grounds.
In 2011, the Obama Administration began requiring companies to provide contraceptives to their employees at no cost under their ObamaCare-compliant health insurance plans.
Hobby Lobby, which has 18 Alabama locations, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Mennonite-owned furniture manufacturer, challenged the requirement in court, contending that no employer should be forced by the government to do something that goes against their religious beliefs.
In today’s 5-4 ruling, Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. wrote for the majority that “Protecting the free-exercise rights of closely held corporations thus protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control them.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagreed in her dissent, writing that the decision ignored the rights of “thousands of women employed” by the businesses.
In October 2013, the State of Alabama joined a separate lawsuit on behalf of Irondale, Alabama-based Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the ObamaCare contraceptive mandate. EWTN, the largest Catholic media company in the world, could face $10 million in fines for failure to comply with the ObamaCare mandate. Earlier this month an Alabama federal circuit judge ruled against EWTN, and Attorney General Luther Strange announced the State of Alabama would continue to stand by the religious broadcaster through the appeals process.
“Alabama has a history of safeguarding our freedom of religion,” said strange. “In 1998, we were the first state to amend our constitution through popular referendum to forbid the state from burdening the free exercise of religion unless there was no other way to accomplish a compelling state interest. If the federal government believes free contraception is vital, then surely it can find another way to implement it than by forcing family businesses and religious broadcasters and others to violate their religious beliefs.”
Big win at the SCOTUS for Alabama's Attorney General Luther Strange. He filed briefs on AL's behalf in the Hobby Lobby lawsuit. #alpolitics
— Alabama Politics (@AlabamaPolitics) June 30, 2014
Other Alabama leaders also loudly voiced their support for the Supreme Court’s decision Monday morning:
Today’s ruling is an important step towards restoring the religious freedoms that the President’s health care law suppressed. And it is yet another rebuke for an Administration that does not recognize the limits on its power. – Sen. Jeff Sessions
I am glad to see that the Supreme Court rightfully recognized that religious liberties don’t end when a family owns a business. Today’s decision is a victory for the American people and a rebuke of Obamacare’s attempt to undermine our constitutionally guaranteed right to religious freedom. – Sen. Richard Shelby
Today’s Supreme Court decision ought to cause the Obama Administration to reassess a long list of policies that many of us consider hostile to the full and free exercise of religious belief. – Rep. Spencer Bachus
Today’s decision is a defeat for Big Government power and a victory for the average American, freedom and liberty. – Rep. Mo Brooks
I hear from people across Southwest Alabama almost every day who are worried that our nation’s moral foundation is eroding. The federal government should not be able to mandate a family business abandon the Judeo-Christian foundation on which their business is built. Today’s decision affirms that very principle. – Rep. Bradley Byrne
I hope this ruling helps correct the Administration’s bad habit of using agency-level rule-making to interpret laws in such a way that fits its own pet policies. This time they ran square into the First Amendment’s very clear protection of Americans’ free exercise of religion. – Rep. Martha Roby
I was pleased today to see the highest court in the land uphold our religious freedoms and values. Business owners should not be forced to compromise their beliefs for an overreaching government program like Obamacare, and I am relieved to see this strong affirmation for some of our nation’s most important principles. – Rep. Mike Rogers
As a strong supporter of religious freedom, I stand with @HobbyLobbyStore. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/ntbyFKBpQO
— Mike Hubbard (@SpeakerHubbard) June 30, 2014
This issue was not just about the morality of birth control and its use, it was a reiteration that Americans do not surrender their religious freedom when they open a family business. The constitutional right to religious freedom does not stop at the church doors. – ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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