So the Supreme Court of the United States has brought down their ruling in regards to the Hobby Lobby/Conestoga vs. Burdell case.
This is where Hobby Lobby and the like decided that they didn’t like the mandate brought forth by “Obamacare” that said they had to, under law, provide contraceptive services (birth-control, etc.) under the employee health plans that they provide.
The SCOTUS sided with Hobby Lobby stating - “We must decide whether the challenged HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] regulations substantially burden the exercise of religion, and we hold that they do,” wrote Justice Samual Alito for the majority. “Government action that imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise must serve a compelling government interest, and we assume that the HHS regulations satisfy this requirement. But in order for the HHS mandate to be sustained, it must also constitute the least restrictive means of serving that interest, and the mandate plainly fails that test.”
In other words Alito said the part of the Affordable Care Act that requires private employers to provide contraception was too strict. The law already exempted non-profit religious organizations such as Catholic Hospitals. But that distinction which treated non-profits and private corporations differently, conservative Christians argued that ANYTHING requiring birth-control violated their religious liberty.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the dissenting argument - “In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” her dissent began. “The exemption sought by [Christian businesses] Hobby Lobby and Conestoga would override significant interests of the corporations’ employees and covered dependents. It would deny legions of women who do not hold their employers’ beliefs access to contraceptive coverage that the ACA would otherwise secure.”
So now we have one side that says - “The Supreme Court just ruled 5-4 that CORPORATIONS have a 'religious' right to discriminate against their employees.”
And another side that says - “This ruling is a victory for anyone who believes in limited government and freedom of conscience rights or religious liberty.”
In my own opinion this ruling not only deprives women of the right to contraception, but more frightening is that the court set the standard of affirming corporations “personhood” status, giving corporations so-called “religious liberty” while taking religious freedom away from their employees at the expense of women’s health.
Corporate religious rights are now more powerful than the individual right to privacy. Which issue, after women’s contraception will be targeted next?
We could easily see the LGBT community targeted with such a ruling...this has given business corporations a broad right to use religion as justified discrimination.
The truly sad part of the contraceptive issue is that once again, millions of the poor and most vulnerable who cannot afford contraception as easily as a middle-class worker, will be hit the hardest. This case was won with junk-science and non-factual information being argued such as referring to emergency contraception as an “abortion causing drug” when in fact the morning after pill works no differently than regular birth-control pills do by preventing fertilization of the egg.
Moreover, in a free society, birth-control is about personal health (yes many women take the pill for other reasons besides not getting pregnant), medicine and science, not religion. This is a perversion of religious freedom, our values of religious freedom and tolerance were meant to protect the people from being terrorized by the government and businesses…the freedom of religion not only protects one’s own religious preferences but allows us to be free from the imposition of someone else’s religious beliefs.
The right-wing groups are always up in arms and fear mongering against Sharia Law being imposed on us…they just made is easier for that to happen (brilliant!).
Why do we continue down this path that gives the corporations (the places where we work) so much unchecked power?
What is your own opinion on the matter?
This is where Hobby Lobby and the like decided that they didn’t like the mandate brought forth by “Obamacare” that said they had to, under law, provide contraceptive services (birth-control, etc.) under the employee health plans that they provide.
The SCOTUS sided with Hobby Lobby stating - “We must decide whether the challenged HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] regulations substantially burden the exercise of religion, and we hold that they do,” wrote Justice Samual Alito for the majority. “Government action that imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise must serve a compelling government interest, and we assume that the HHS regulations satisfy this requirement. But in order for the HHS mandate to be sustained, it must also constitute the least restrictive means of serving that interest, and the mandate plainly fails that test.”
In other words Alito said the part of the Affordable Care Act that requires private employers to provide contraception was too strict. The law already exempted non-profit religious organizations such as Catholic Hospitals. But that distinction which treated non-profits and private corporations differently, conservative Christians argued that ANYTHING requiring birth-control violated their religious liberty.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the dissenting argument - “In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” her dissent began. “The exemption sought by [Christian businesses] Hobby Lobby and Conestoga would override significant interests of the corporations’ employees and covered dependents. It would deny legions of women who do not hold their employers’ beliefs access to contraceptive coverage that the ACA would otherwise secure.”
So now we have one side that says - “The Supreme Court just ruled 5-4 that CORPORATIONS have a 'religious' right to discriminate against their employees.”
And another side that says - “This ruling is a victory for anyone who believes in limited government and freedom of conscience rights or religious liberty.”
In my own opinion this ruling not only deprives women of the right to contraception, but more frightening is that the court set the standard of affirming corporations “personhood” status, giving corporations so-called “religious liberty” while taking religious freedom away from their employees at the expense of women’s health.
Corporate religious rights are now more powerful than the individual right to privacy. Which issue, after women’s contraception will be targeted next?
We could easily see the LGBT community targeted with such a ruling...this has given business corporations a broad right to use religion as justified discrimination.
The truly sad part of the contraceptive issue is that once again, millions of the poor and most vulnerable who cannot afford contraception as easily as a middle-class worker, will be hit the hardest. This case was won with junk-science and non-factual information being argued such as referring to emergency contraception as an “abortion causing drug” when in fact the morning after pill works no differently than regular birth-control pills do by preventing fertilization of the egg.
Moreover, in a free society, birth-control is about personal health (yes many women take the pill for other reasons besides not getting pregnant), medicine and science, not religion. This is a perversion of religious freedom, our values of religious freedom and tolerance were meant to protect the people from being terrorized by the government and businesses…the freedom of religion not only protects one’s own religious preferences but allows us to be free from the imposition of someone else’s religious beliefs.
The right-wing groups are always up in arms and fear mongering against Sharia Law being imposed on us…they just made is easier for that to happen (brilliant!).
Why do we continue down this path that gives the corporations (the places where we work) so much unchecked power?
What is your own opinion on the matter?
Last edited:
