Americans United for Separation of Church and State
News Media Backgrounder:
What the Hobby Lobby Case Could Mean For Religious Freedom in America
The meaning of religious freedom in the United States – and Americans’ access to birth control – is being weighed by federal courts around the country. And a major showdown over this vitally important matter is coming up soon.
On May 23, nine judges from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius, a case that challenges whether a secular for-profit business corporation should have to comply with the Obama administration’s “contraceptive mandate.”
Background
Under the Obama administration’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, most companies are now required to adopt a health insurance plan that includes no-cost birth control. Since so many Americans use birth control, it is essential for good public health to include it in employee plans.
But Hobby Lobby founder David Green and his family believe – contrary to the weight of modern science – that some types of emergency contraceptives, including the morning-after pill, are forms of abortion, which conflicts with the family's evangelical Christian religious beliefs. They filed suit against the mandate, citing the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law protecting free exercise of religion.
Corporations like Hobby Lobby want the public to think this is about religious freedom being stepped on by the federal government, but it’s really about the parameters of religious freedom in America. Does a corporation have some sort of “corporate conscience”; even if it does, can it override the religious freedom rights of the company’s employees?
Hobby Lobby is not a religious enterprise. Its stores sell supplies for arts and crafts projects. And it’s not being forced to use or promote contraception; rather, it’s being asked to allow its employees to make their own reproductive decisions.
Hobby Lobby isn’t some small-time enterprise, either. This is a chain with 525 stores in 42 states and 21,000 employees, and it’s backed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a prominent social conservative legal organization based in Washington, D.C.
Consequences
If Hobby Lobby succeeds, thousands of American workers would be denied access to critical health care – all because their boss objects to contraceptives.
And what’s next? If businesses can refuse to comply with a federal law such as this one, can they also refuse to comply with civil rights laws barring discrimination? If Hobby Lobby doesn’t have to offer certain insurance coverage, will landlords be able to refuse to rent to tenants who don’t share the same religious views? Will restaurants be able to refuse seating to atheists? Will cab drivers be allowed not to pick up anyone who isn’t a fundamentalist? The slope is extremely slippery here.
The Larger Battle
More than 40 cases have been filed over the birth control mandate, and 13 of them are now before federal appeals courts. Of those 13 cases, all involve at least one plaintiff that owns a for-profit corporation. These plaintiffs have quite a bit of legal might behind them, getting assistance from powerful Religious Right-allied groups like the Becket Fund as well as TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Virginia-based American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based legal group founded by radio and television preachers.
Response from Americans United
Americans United is fighting back. This matter seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court, so we’re trying to make sure that most of the lower courts rule in favor of the mandate. That’s why we will be filing 11 briefs in these cases by June, explaining that owners of for-profits like Hobby Lobby have every right to practice their chosen religion, but no right to impose their beliefs on their employees.
These AU briefs have been authored primarily by Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan and Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper, who wrote that Hobby Lobby’s employees should be able to choose what medical care is best for them in consultation with their health care providers, and whatever decision those employees make has no effect on their boss’s own religious practice. Americans United also made sure the courts know what is at stake.
AU Comment from the Rev. Barry W. Lynn
“This is clearly one of the most important church-state conflicts in recent memory,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “The heads of secular, for-profit corporations must not be allowed to impose their religious beliefs on employees. That would be disastrous.”
“Once the door is opened for religious exemptions from certain laws, it will be almost impossible to close that door,” Lynn added.
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Contact Information: For more information or to schedule an interview, call Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Simon Brown at Americans United for Separation of Church and State: 202-466-3234. Or email us at:
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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