Hobby Lobby Hopefully Awaits SC Decision in its Favor

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. awaits the Supreme Court decision that many expect to come out very soon, hoping it turns to its favor. Hobby Lobby, with its sister company Mardel Christian Bookstore are fighting for their right to be exempted from some parts of the Affordable Care Act contraceptive mandate saying that providing for devices or medications that prevent a successful pregnancy goes against their deep religious beliefs on which their companies were founded and stand firm.

The Justices are set to rule on whether the Affordable Care Act is infringing on craft store chain Hobby Lobby’s religious rights by forcing the company to provide full contraceptive coverage to its 13,000 workers as part of its health care plan. Read more at

The Supreme Court will hand down its decision in the Hobby Lobby case, which raises the question of whether a corporation has a legal right to refuse to comply with provisions of the Affordable Care Act that require it to provide contraceptive health insurance coverage for its women employees. Hobby Lobby maintains that it must be granted an exemption from the law because compliance would conflict with the corporation’s religious beliefs.
There is hope that Hobby Lobby may win its case, according to this news analysis. 
It goes on to say that although people tend to think the case poses a First Amendment question, in fact it poses only a statutory question: whether the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act gives Hobby Lobby a statutory right not to comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Read more of the analysis here:

There were indications during the arguments that Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy could be a factor in the final decision, after Kennedy joined both the Court’s liberals and conservatives in posing questions to Verrilli and Clement.
Reporters from The Wall Street Journal, who were at the arguments, also believed that Chief Justice John Roberts might have been seeking a compromise involving closely held companies (like Hobby Lobby) and publicly held companies. Read more at

Since Hobby Lobby, an Equal Opportunity Employer is generally considered a closely held company with its religious beliefs, it may yet be granted the exemption it seeks. To be fair, it already agrees to cover those birth control methods that prevent conception. Thus, to be asking for exemption from providing for those methods and medications that would kill a life inside the mother's womb goes well with its strongly held religious belief against abortion.