- Photos « June 30, 2014
Statements on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores Decision
Sen. Cruz: Landmark Victory for Religious Liberty
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today released the following statement commending the Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.“Today the Supreme Court handed our nation a landmark victory for religious liberty. The decision affirms that Americans, contrary to what the Obama Administration attempted to impose, have a right to live and work in accordance to their conscience and can’t be forced to surrender their religious freedom once they open a business.
“This ruling is a repudiation of the Obama Administration’s untenable position that people with sincerely held religious beliefs should be forced to comply with an unconstitutional mandate while a parade of waivers, exemptions, and delays are granted for purely commercial and political interests.
“In making this ruling the Court relied on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed with broad bipartisan support, proving the strength and necessity of the legislation and showing the nation the effectiveness members of Congress can have when they work together to protect religious liberty.
“Certainly, the struggle for religious freedom will continue, as cases made by hundreds more plaintiffs will wend their way through the courts. The right to religious liberty, as enshrined in the First Amendment, remains under an incredible assault by this Administration on a variety of fronts. But, with this decision, I am hopeful that the courts will also work to safeguard the religious liberty for non-profits, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor and others, just as the Supreme Court did today for private businesses.”
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee
Facebook posting:
The Supreme Court got it right, today, but barely. In the 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the government can't force an employer in a privately held company to provide abortifacient drugs as part of its health care plan.
Only in the la-la land of left would it sound reasonable that government has created not only a 'right' to take the life of a child, but the obligation of providing it, even when it violated the First Amendment rights of that employer. The government can't say, 'you can have some religion, but only what the government agrees is sufficient.' The Hobby Lobby ruling is yet another repudiation of the overreaching dictates of the Obama administration and a good day for freedom.
Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
Gov. Jindal On Hobby Lobby Decision: Court Rejects Obama Admin. Assault On Religious Liberty
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Paul Praises SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling sided with Hobby Lobby on the contraception mandate:“Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious freedom by taking a stand with Hobby Lobby. Religious liberty will remain intact and all Americans can stay true to their faith without fear of big government intervention or punishment," Sen. Paul said. “Our nation was founded on the principle of freedom, and with this decision, America will continue to serve as a safe haven for those looking to exercise religious liberty.”
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)
Statement by Gov. Perry on Hobby Lobby Ruling
Gov. Rick Perry today released the following statement following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby."Today's decision is further proof that Obamacare represents one of the greatest governmental overreaches in our nation's history. Religious freedom is an intrinsic part of being American, and the Supreme Court's decision reaffirms that the government cannot mandate that anyone operate in a fashion counter to their most deeply-felt principles."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
RUBIO
COMMENTS
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LOBBY SUPREME COURT DECISION
Washington, D.C. – U.S.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today released the following statement after
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby and religious
liberty:“A key part of the American Dream has always been the ability of our people to freely practice their faiths without government interference. ObamaCare’s mandates have threatened to change this and, in doing so, erode the American Dream as we know it and our people’s ability to live it. The Supreme Court has correctly recognized that ObamaCare’s trampling of religious liberty in the Hobby Lobby case should not stand.
“ObamaCare was written and passed with a clear disregard for the reality that millions of Americans are inspired by their faiths in all aspects of their lives, including the way entrepreneurs manage their businesses. In America, no one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs if they wish to run a business.
“The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision is a re-affirmation of America’s commitment to religious freedom and a reminder of why ObamaCare is such a flawed law that needs to be entirely repealed and replaced.”
Former Sen. Rick Santorum
Santorum: Today's Ruling a Tremendous Victory for our Freedom of Conscience
Verona, PA -- Former U.S. Senator, former Republican presidential candidate, author of Blue Collar Conservatives and Patriot Voices Chairman Rick Santorum today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:
"The Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare's contraception mandate is a tremendous victory for our freedom of conscience."
"I'm
proud of the Green and Hahn families for holding true to their core
convictions and standing up to Obamacare's intrusive contraception and
abortion coverage mandate. The Hobby Lobby and the Conestoga Wood
Specialties businesses were built on people living out the American
dream, and their owners should not have to check their religious
beliefs at the door. For the moment, the
Court has restored a vital piece of the Constitution that President
Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi attempted to deny working Americans:
'the free exercise' of religion. Today is a great day for
all Americans."
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
For Immediate Release: June 30, 2014
Media Contact: Emily Hardman
Supreme Court Victory for Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Courtgranted a landmark victory for religious liberty today, ruling in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that individuals do not lose their religious freedom when they open a family business. The court ruled 5-4 in favor of David and Barbara Green and their family business, Hobby Lobby, ruling that they will not be required to violate their faith by including four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in the company’s health insurance plan or pay severe fines.
“This is a landmark decision for religious freedom. The Supreme Court recognized that Americans do not lose their religious freedom when they run a family business,” said Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and counsel for Hobby Lobby. “This ruling will protect people of all faiths. The Court’s reasoning was clear, and it should have been clear to the government. You can’t argue there are no alternative means when your agency is busy creating alternative means for other people.”
The decision also has important implications for over 50 pending lawsuits brought by non-profit religious organizations, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, which are also challenging the mandate. In two different respects, the Supreme Court strongly signaled that the mandate may be struck down in those cases too. First, it rejected the government’s argument that there was no burden on the Green’s religious exercise because only third parties use the drugs. Second, it held that the government could simply pay for contraception coverage with its own funds, rather than requiring private employers to do so.
“The handwriting is on the wall,” said Windham. “The Court has strongly signaled that the mandate is in trouble in the non-profit cases, too.”
The Court upheld a June 2013 ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals protecting Hobby Lobby and the Green family from the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. That mandate requires Hobby Lobby and co-founders David and Barbara Green to provide and facilitate, against their religious convictions, four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in the company’s health insurance plan. The Greens argued that the mandate substantially burdened their religious beliefs in violation of a federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (see video).
In an opinion by Justice Alito, the Court stated:
The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate . . . against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs. . . . Our responsibility is to enforce RFRA as written, and under the standard that RFRA prescribes, the HHS contraceptive mandate is unlawful.”
Justice Kennedy’s concurrence added: “Among the reasons the United States is so open, so tolerant, and so free is that no person may be restricted or demeaned by government in exercising his or her religion.”
The Greens and their family businesses have no moral objection to providing 16 of the 20 FDA-approved contraceptives under the HHS mandate, and will continue to provide a broad range of contraceptives at no additional cost to their employees.
“Our family is overjoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision. Today the nation’s highest court has re-affirmed the vital importance of religious liberty as one of our country’s founding principles,” said Barbara Green, co-founder of Hobby Lobby. “The Court’s decision is a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith. We are grateful to God and to those who have supported us on this difficult journey.”
Founded in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972, the Green family has grown Hobby Lobby from one 300-square-foot retail space into more than 603 stores in 47 states (626 stores by the end of 2014). Devout Christians, the Green family believes that “It is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured” and seek to run their company “in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” This includes closing on Sundays and generous treatment of their employees, with full-time hourly workers starting at more than double the federal minimum wage.
Also joining the lawsuit is Mardel Christian & Education, a chain of Christian bookstores owned and operated by members of the Green family.
The case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby was consolidated before the Supreme Court with Conestoga v. Burwell. The Becket Fund represented Hobby Lobby, Mardel and the Greens together with Paul D. Clement of Bancroft, PLLC, who presented the oral argument before the court in March.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions—from Anglicans to Zoroastrians. For 18 years its attorneys have been recognized as experts in the field of church-state law. The Becket Fund recently won a 9-0 victory in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.” For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys, please contact Emily Hardman, Communications Director, at ehardman@becketfund.org or call 202.349.7224.
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Americans United for Life
AUL Calls Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision Upholding First Amendment Conscience Rights “a Victory for Common-sense”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (06-30-14) – “Today’s decision is a victory for common-sense as pro-life Americans do not lose their First Amendment freedoms when they open a family business or when they value unborn life,” commented Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest, upon hearing news that the Court ruled in favor of the Green and Hahn families in two cases challenging Obamacare’s coercive HHS Mandate. “These cases underscore the critical need for laws protecting Americans’ freedom of conscience. The anti-life mandate the Obama Administration tried to impose on these families is evidence of Big Abortion’s manipulative agenda, as they move from choice to coercion.”
In a 5-4 decision in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell (formerly Sebelius) and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, the U.S. Supreme Court held that closely held corporations (such as the Green and Hahn family businesses) cannot be required to provide “contraception” coverage. The Court held that the Obama Administration failed to show that its coercive Mandate was the least restrictive means of advancing its claimed interest.
Including these cases, Americans United for Life has filed 18 amicus curiae briefs in challenges to Obamacare’s HHS Mandate which includes requiring employers to offer life-ending drugs and devices in health insurance policies. AUL’s briefs presented analysis and arguments defending the constitutional rights of all Americans when it comes to healthcare purchases.
Conestoga Wood Specialties is owned by Christians and operated according to the owners’ Mennonite Christian beliefs. Hobby Lobby is an Oklahoma-based national arts and crafts retailer founded and run by David Green and his family, and their Christian faith has remained an integral part of the business. Both Conestoga Wood and Hobby Lobby do not oppose all contraception, but only those drugs and devices that have been labeled as “contraception” by the FDA even though they are known to have life-ending effects.
In its briefs before the Supreme Court, AUL demonstrated that the life of a new human being begins at fertilization (conception), that so-called “emergency contraception” has a post-fertilization effect that can prevent a new human being from implanting in the uterus, and that forcing employers to provide coverage for such drugs violates their constitutionally protected freedom of conscience.
The briefs were filed by an all-woman team of four AUL attorneys on behalf of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Christian Medical Association, National Catholic Bioethics Center, Physicians for Life, and National Association of Pro Life Nurses.
“Real healthcare respects life,” noted Dr. Yoest. “Whether the issue is punishing Americans for their beliefs, pushing life-ending drugs that have been deceptively labeled as contraception, or creating new income streams for the abortion industry, the anti-life implications of Obamacare are far reaching.”
Abortion is woven into the healthcare law at multiple levels, making repeal of the law a pro-life necessity. The abortion-related provisions of Obamacare, include:
- Failing to prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortion, abortion coverage, and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.
- Pretending that the Hyde Amendment protections were enough to prohibit direct payment for abortions.
- Permitting federally subsidized Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) to provide abortion coverage through the state insurance exchanges required in all 50 states.
- Failing to prohibit all multi-state qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortion.
- Including a “preventive care” mandate that is being used to force coverage of drugs and devices known to end life.
- Failing to provide comprehensive First Amendment conscience protections for individuals, employers, and insurance companies that have religious or moral objections to abortion.
To learn more about life-affirming healthcare, click here.
Americans United for Life continues to work at the state and federal level to enact comprehensive statutory protections that guard against Big Abortion’s coercive agenda.
Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America Applauds the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, applauds today’s Supreme Court decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Burwell where the Court upheld our fundamental rights to the free exercise of religion.Penny Nance, CWA’s CEO and President, had this to say:xxx
Concerned Women for America has stood in support of the Green and Hahn families throughout this process because we knew that their courageous efforts would ultimately serve our country for years to come. Religious freedom is one of our most cherished rights, and we are ecstatic that the Supreme Court has sent such a strong message protecting them.If you would like an interview with Penny Nance, please contact Alison Howard
We are especially thankful that the Court saw right through the Obama Administration’s false claim to be working on behalf of all women with this unconstitutional mandate. As our brief to the Court said: “No one person, and certainly not the Government, speaks for the interests of all women, and the Mandate cannot be generalized as a measure that advances the interests of all women.”
The mandate served only that group of women who support the president’s radical pro-abortion agenda, an agenda that would sacrifice our constitutional right to the free exercise of religion at the altar of so-called reproductive rights. It clearly works against those free-thinking women CWA represents who reject society’s imposed feminist values for the freedom envisioned by our founding principles of liberty and justice for all.
The Justices have done the country a great service today by staying true to those principles and preserving religious liberty for all, including the women represented by the other side.
Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with 500,000 participating members across the country, over 450 Prayer/Action Chapters and Home Teams, 600 trained leaders and over 30 years of service to our nation.
Family Research Council
Supreme Court Delivers Momentous Religious Freedom Victory
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Family Research Council (FRC) praised today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding religious liberty and protecting the conscience rights of family businesses who object to being forced to pay for the coverage of sterilizations, contraception and drugs that have the potential to destroy an unborn child.FRC President Tony Perkins learned of the ruling this morning as he met with the Hahn family, founders and owners of Conestoga Wood Specialties, which were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys in this lawsuit challenging the Obama administration mandate.
Perkins made the following comments:
“The Supreme Court has delivered one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation. We are thankful the Supreme Court agreed that the government went too far by mandating that family businesses owners must violate their consciences under threat of crippling fines.
“All Americans can be thankful that the Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and that the government cannot impose a law on American men and women that forces them to violate their beliefs in order to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance.
“The unfair HHS mandate gave family businesses two non-choices: either violate your deeply held moral beliefs and comply by paying for drugs and services to which you object, or pay crippling fines of up to $100 per day, per employee, for non-compliance.
This mandate threatened the jobs, livelihood and healthcare of millions of Americans and forced those who stood up for their conscience, like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, to either comply or be punished.
“Thankfully, the threat the HHS mandate imposed on Americans has been deemed unlawful today as a violation of core religious freedom rights. While we celebrate this landmark decision, it is our hope that lower courts will follow the Supreme Court’s lead and protect non-profits like Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and Wheaton College from the unfair HHS Mandate,” concluded Perkins.
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Statement by Ralph Reed, Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman on SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling
(Duluth, GA) – Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed released the following statement in response to the SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling:“The Supreme Court's decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby is an important victory for religious freedom and the right of conscience for all Americans. By forcing people of faith to subsidize health care services that assaulted their conscience and undermined their religion, the Obama administration showed a lack of respect for the First Amendment. This case dramatically demonstrates that whenever government gets bigger, freedom contracts. While we celebrate this victory, we will not rest until Obamacare is repealed in its entirety.”
Faith & Freedom Coalition has over 925,000 members and supporters in all 50 states. FFC advances sound public policy to strengthen the family and marriage, protect innocent life, reduce the tax burden on middle-class families, and lift up the poor and marginalized.
Independent Women' Forum
IWF STATEMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT RULING IN THE CASES OF HOBBY LOBBY & CONESTOGA WOOD
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The Independent Women’s Forum applauds the decision of the Supreme Court in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp v. Sebelius. The IWF’s Director of Health Policy, Hadley Heath Manning, stated:“This case was about much more than contraception. It was about the principles of liberty that animate our Constitution. It was about empowering women to choose the healthcare and salary options that best fit their needs. And it was about employers, many of them women, being able to follow their deeply held religious beliefs.
“The HHS mandate is bad policy. It comes with unintended consequences for women and for public health. By removing price competition from birth control markets, the mandate would have driven up the cost of drugs for women who remain uninsured, and may have discouraged condom use among those who are insured. We are thankful that the Court ruled today that closely-held corporations that have religious objectsions will not be required to follow this misguided policy.
“American women already had plentiful access to contraception before HHS created this burdensome employer mandate through ObamaCare. Indeed, Hobby Lobby currently provides its employees 16 of the 20 FDA-approved contraceptives. If the government wants to make birth control even more accessible, there are many other ways that it can do so without forcing employers with religious convictions to pay for abortifacients violate their beliefs.”
The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of Hobby Lobby, Inc., and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., emphasizing the mandate’s negative potential consequences for women’s health and employment freedom. The main focus of the IWF’s brief, written by University of Missouri law professor (and former clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts) Erin M. Hawley, was a technical legal issue: the Anti-Injunction Act. The Anti-Injunction Act was enacted in 1867 to ensure the prompt collection of taxes and to protect the public treasury. The IWF argued that the Anti-Injunction Act was not jurisdictional and posed no bar to resolution of the critical constitutional questions at issue in the cases.
The IWF supports limited government, free-markets, and individual responsibility, and opposes ObamaCare coverage mandates, both for individuals and for employer-sponsored plans. The IWF’s statement of interest argued that the HHS mandate works contrary to women’s interests and will restrict women’s flexibility to customize their compensation and benefits.
The IWF has been monitoring and keeping the public informed about constitutional challenges to ObamaCare since the law’s passage, and in October 2010 launched a Web site to track the more than 100 cases filed against various aspects of ObamaCare. This project can be found online at HealthCareLawsuits.org.
To read the IWF's amicus brief, click here.
For complete list of amicus briefs visit The Becket Fund and Alliance Defending Freedom.
Follow these links to read the IWF¹s fact sheet and policy brief about the HHS mandate.
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www.iwf.org
Independent Women's Forum is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and educational institution dedicated to expanding the conservative coalition, both by increasing the number of women who understand and value the benefits of limited government, personal liberty, and free markets, and by countering those who seek to ever expand government in the name of protecting women.
MEDIA CONTACT
Victoria Coley | Director of Communications
Independent Women's Forum | www.iwf.org
Republican National Committee
RNC Statement on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
“This decision protects the religious freedom that is guaranteed to all Americans by the First Amendment, and we’re grateful the Court ruled on the side of liberty. The central issue of this case was whether the federal government can coerce Americans to violate their deeply held religious beliefs, and thankfully the Court has upheld the proper limits on the government’s power.
“The fact that Americans had to bring this case in the first place reveals once again just how intrusive ObamaCare is. It’s a misguided one-size-fits-all policy that not only failed to fix our healthcare system but has trampled on our Constitutional rights. Americans deserve a healthcare system that allows them to make the right choices for themselves, gives them more freedom, and comes nowhere close to encroaching on our First Amendment rights.”