Hobby Lobby’s Argument Over Birth Control To Be Heard By U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to take up two cases involving the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health care law to provide birth control coverage for U.S. workers.

Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby, which has a store in Temecula, along with its sister company, Mardel Christian bookstore, will be at the center of the discussion.

Lawyers for the arts-and-crafts retailer are arguing the Obamacare requirement that health care coverage include access to the morning-after pill restricts freedom of religion.

In October, the company asked the high court to take up the issue, and Tuesday it was agreed the case would be heard. In July, a U.S. District Judge granted Hobby Lobby/Mardel Christian a temporary exemption from the health care law, but in September the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services filed a notice in federal court to appeal the decision.

The Obama administration has promoted the Affordable Healthcare Act’s mandate that preventive care, including contraception, be cost-free. Opponents such as Hobby Lobby say mandates on birth control are an attack on the religious freedom of employers.

“The key issue is whether profit-making corporations may assert religious beliefs under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act or the First Amendment provision guaranteeing Americans the right to believe and worship as they choose,” The Associated Press reported today.

In addition to the Hobby Lobby case, the justices also agreed to hear an appeal from Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., a Pennsylvania company that employs 950 people in making wood cabinets. Lower courts rejected the company's claims that it’s “a matter of conscience to [facilitate] contraception that may prevent the implantation of a human embryo in the womb."

Both Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are owned by Christian families who publicly promote their beliefs. 

According to the Hobby Lobby website, the company places Christian values high, stating it is "honoring the Lord" in all it does "by operating the company in a manner consistent with biblical principles."

The company's website goes on to state, "We believe that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured. He has been faithful in the past, and we trust Him for our future."

The high court will combine the two cases, and arguments will probably be heard in late March, according to The Associated Press report, which goes on to report that the justices “will have to confront several questions: Can these businesses hold religious beliefs; does the health care provision significantly infringe on those beliefs and, even if the answer to the first two questions is "yes," does the government still have a sufficient interest in guaranteeing women who work for the companies access to contraception?”

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear Kathleen Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

“Under the Affordable Care Act, all Americans have the right to access affordable, quality healthcare, including contraception,” Harris said. “For profit companies should not be able to deny women access to healthcare based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners. The 10th circuit ruling should be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. to include California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris's comment.