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Supreme Court: Religious businesses may reject providing birth control
Lady Justice in front of the United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C.—by Joseph Earnest
by Michael Gryboski June 30, 2014
Newscast Media WASHINGTON—In a landmark religious freedom case the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods Specialties, in a 5-4 decision, stating that corporations can refuse to provide certain drugs that may abort a fetus on the basis of religious objection. The highest court in the land ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applies to privately owned businesses like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods Specialties. The decision was narrowed to only the contraceptive mandate and is not necessarily applicable to all insurance mandates, like blood transfusions or vaccinations. In September 2012 Hobby Lobby owners the Green family filed a lawsuit against HHS in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma regarding the mandate. While the Greens were willing to provide most of the mandated contraceptives, they opposed the provision that they must provide "morning after" and "week after" pills, which are considered abortion-inducing and thus in opposition to the Greens' pro-life views. Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that "our Founders gave us the religious freedoms that we have today and as a business we have the right to live according to those freedoms." "The government is saying we have to provide prescriptions that are abortive and that violate our conscience, because we believe that life begins at conception and it's something that we have no desire to fully fund, which is what the mandate requires," said Green. Two years ago, Chief Justice John Roberts cast the pivotal Supreme Court vote that saved the law in the midst of Obama's campaign for re-election. On Monday, Roberts sided with the four justices who would have struck down the law in its entirety, holding in favor of the religious rights of closely held corporations, like the Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby chain of arts-and-craft stores that challenged the contraceptives provision. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga were two of dozens of entities that had sued the federal government over the HHS mandate. Several similar lawsuits arguing that the mandate violates religious conscience remain in the lower courts and will likely be affected by the decision. Add Comments>>
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