Hobby Lobby Wins Partial Victory From Appeals Court In Health Care Challenge

A federal appeals court in Denver sided with Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. on Thursday in its legal battle against part of the Affordable Care Act.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals moved to reverse a lower court's decision to deny Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.'s quest for an injunction against part of the Affordable Care Act that requires it to cover the cost of emergency contraceptives for some of its employees.

In a statement, Hobby Lobby founder and CEO David Green said he and his family believe that life begins with conception and paying for their employees to have insurance coverage for emergency contraceptives such as the morning-after pill would force them to violate their religious beliefs.

“We believe that business owners should not have to be forced to choose between following their faith and following the law,” he said in the statement. “We will continue to fight for our religious freedom, and we appreciate the prayers of support we have received.”

In a 168-page ruling issued Thursday, the federal appeals court sent the case back to a lower court for further review.

The panel of eight appellate court judges who heard arguments in May ruled unanimously that Hobby Lobby and its affiliated Christian bookstore chain Mardel have the right to sue over the Affordable Care Act.

“A religious individual may enter the for-profit realm intending to demonstrate to the marketplace that a corporation can succeed financially while adhering to religious values,” the judges said in the ruling.

The ruling is a blow to the federal government's argument that as for-profit corporations, the companies cannot claim that the health care law is a violation of constitutionally protected religious freedoms.

Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the nonprofit Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing Hobby Lobby, called the appeals court ruling a significant milestone for the company and other businesses that are challenging the health care law.

“It confirms all along the argument that we have been making for the Green family — that they have the right to exercise religion in the running of their business,” Duncan said. “The government has consistently denied that.”

Judges split on temporary injunction

Hobby Lobby is the largest company to sue the federal government over the health care law, according to the Becket Fund. The company is one of 60 legal challenges to the mandate on emergency contraceptives.

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Hobby Lobby To Deny Contraception To Employees, Ignoring Court Order

Craft store chain Hobby Lobby announced on Friday that it will ignore the ruling of U.S. courts and refuse to provide copay-free birth control access to its employees. It will do so despite whatever costs it may incur, even if they are higher than the cost of birth control itself.

Upon learning that Obamacare required employers and insurance companies to provide birth control with no cost to employees, Hobby Lobby sued, saying that, despite the secular nature of the business, the company’s owner’s religious objections should be taken into consideration. When a court denied that line of reasoning, Hobby Lobby took its grievances to the Supreme Court and asked for an injunction. The highest court in the land denied that request, telling Hobby Lobby that it must allow its employees access to birth control as it seeks further litigation.

But Hobby Lobby is saying no.

The store plans to ignore the provision anyway, opting to pay a fine instead of provide birth control, including the morning after pill commonly known as Plan B, which the owner feels goes against his personal religious values:

With Wednesday’s rejection of an emergency stay of that federal health care law by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Hobby Lobby and sister company Mardel could be subject to fines of up to $1.3 million a day beginning Tuesday.

“They’re not going to comply with the mandate,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel of The Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the company. “They’re not going to offer coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in the insurance plan.”

As for the potential fines, Duncan said, “We’re just going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

This ignores two obvious points — first, that Plan B is not an ‘abortion-inducing’ drug, as Hobby Lobby claims, and second, that the company may well end up paying more to avoid covering contraception than they would simply providing access. It also takes a twisted view on the ‘Freedom of Religion’ argument; the company is actually forcing its owner’s religious beliefs on all employees, no matter their personal religious views.

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Supreme Court Rejects Hobby Lobby Attempt To Block Obamacare Contraception Mandate

NEWS FLASH

Supreme Court Rejects Hobby Lobby Attempt To Block Obamacare Contraception Mandate | The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will not block an Obamacare mandate that employers must provide insurance coverage for contraception. Hobby Lobby, a craft chain, was seeking an emergency injunction against the mandate after both a federal and district judge ruled against it. While Hobby Lobby can still pursue its lawsuit that claims the mandate violates religious freedom, Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled that it could not show that an injunction blocking the mandate from taking effect was “necessary or appropriate.”

By Travis Waldron on Dec 27, 2012 at 12:45 pm

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