The Freedom Restoration Act Should Not Be Treated Like People, Let Alone Granted

The controversy between marriage equality and the exercise of religious freedom is a confliction between nondiscrimination laws and religious freedom laws. Religious freedom seemed to be an important aspect of an American citizen, after all it is the very first amendment to the constitution. With each American citizen being granted equality by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination made against an individual based on his/her sexual preference may seem to violate this act. In history, religious organizations typically been immune from state and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, with the cases of Obergefell v. Hodges and Kim Davis this stance is challenged.

The contraceptive coverage in the new Health Care law makes preventative care more accessible and affordable to millions of Americans. This is particularly important for women who are more likely to avoid the cost of contraceptives because of cost. To help address these barriers in terms of cost and ensure that all women have access to preventative Health Care Act, all new private insurance plan that covers a wide range of preventative services such as breast x-rays, pap smears smoking prevention and contraception without co-payments or requirements for sharing other costs. The current problem is that the Affordable Care Act is imposing on the 500 store chains of Hobby Lobby’s religious rights by forcing the company to provide full coverage of contraceptives of the 13,000 workers as part of its health care plans. David Green and family, whom founded Hobby Lobby, believe that the healthcare act is violating their held religious convictions.

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law to reform the health care industry by President Barack Obama in 2010, and then was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. This act touched on birth control, which would make it more affordable and easily accessible. But there is a catch; women can only get this more affordable birth control is they are under a private insurance company. A private insurance company is one in which you are paying for

In September 2012, Hobby Lobby filed suit against the U.S. government to exempt itself from the contraceptive mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Hobby Lobby’s owners are evangelical Christians who believe that the contraceptive mandate violates their religious beliefs; specifically, that life begins at conception when successful fertilization occurs within a prospective mother. Providing contraceptive measures, in Hobby Lobby’s view, would facilitate the abortion of a pregnancy, which most evangelicals equate to murder. On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby, along with all other closely held for-profit

As of recently, women have been talking about getting long term birth control or stocking up on Plan B. This is because they are worried the Trump will take away the articles in the Affordable Care Act that say that insurance companies must cover birth control, reproductive health and abortion funding. There are currently provisions in the ACA that allow women access to gynecological visits and birth control without having to pay a copay (Rinkunas, 2016). These provisions when originally passed because a number of businesses filed for exemptions so that they would not have to provide access to free contraception to women; specifically those who may have decided to use Plan B (the morning after pill). Some religious based businesses owners believe that preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus is the same as an abortion, and to them life begins at conception (Newton-Small, 2016). Many Catholic members of Obama’s Administration, including Vice President Joe Biden wanted to allow religious entities or groups the right to opt out of the program (Newton-Small, 2016). The women of the cabinet decided that they would

The Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law in March 2010 and it has not been without its share of problems, debates and controversies. One of the main points of the debates and controversies with the PPACA has been the legality of the individual mandate. The individual mandate “requires that most Americans obtain and maintain health insurance, or an exemption, each month or pay a tax penalty” . The whole purpose of creating PPACA was to “achieve near-universal coverage and to do so through shared responsibility among government, individuals, and employers” and to be able to “improve the fairness, quality, and affordability of health insurance coverage” also to be able to “improve health-care value, quality, and efficiency while reducing wasteful spending and making the health-care system more accountable to a diverse patient population” .Those were the top three goals that were the foundation when drawing up the policies for The Affordable Care Act to develop what was hoped to be universal healthcare system for the citizens of the United States. While The Affordable Care Act does have its benefits, such as it would cover pre-existing conditions where most private insurances do not do, more people have the ability to get what they call affordable medical insurance, costs of prescriptions are lower and it even offers tax credits for those that purchase the insurance but it also

Galloway (2013), Galloway argued that the town of Greece violated the establishment clause. The establishment clause within the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that the national government is unable to establish an official religion. In this court case, it was ruled that the prayers at the town hall did not violate the establishment clause. The basis for this ruling had to do with tradition. In the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2013), the Green family had to provide health care to their employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ruling for this case was that the religious beliefs of the Green family are a factor that can let them deny health care to employees that have different religious beliefs. With a five to four ruling, the Hobby Lobby Stores won the case. These two cases show how Freedom of Religion can be used

Hobby Lobby was owned by the Green family, who were profound Christians and they believe that life starts with contraception. According to the Green’s birth control violates their religious beliefs. The Green’s would often buy newspaper ads saying that Jesus is our lord and savior. They believe that their ideals should be

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 under the Obama Administration to make health coverage available to more Americans. According to Thomas Berg, a social researcher and law professor at St. Thomas University, It would have brought greater demand for health services. The increased number of health professions needed to provide those services would have motivated a younger generation to pursue a career in the medical field. The act would have raised the standard of living in America. Unfortunately a clause was added to the ACA in August of 2011 that would mandate the coverage of “Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity” be included all insurance policies (Berg). The mandate would not have been enacted until August of 2012, but religious groups came out in opposition immediately when news of the clause was released. The Catholic Church was one of the prominent advocates against the enactment of the mandate as contraceptive and sterilization methods are against their moral teachings. The government was forcing the coverage despite the objections of those wishing to practice their conservative faiths freely. The mandate stands as an intrusion of religious liberties and an attack on personal values.

The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling essentially ensures that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 applies to closely-held corporations; in this case, the corporation in question is owned and operated by a single family. (The RFRA was an act passed by Congress in 1993 to protect religious values (244); however, due to it being a direct alteration of the First Amendment (197), the Supreme Court decided to partially remove the RFRA, keeping federal rights of protection.) The owners of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. argued that the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act “imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise”, which is in direct contradiction with the RFRA; their defiance of the ACA would have netted them as much as half a billion dollars per year in fines and penalties.

In January 2012, President Barack Obama issued an order for a new addition to the affordable healthcare bill. This addition, dealing specifically with contraceptives, requires that all employers, including many religious groups, pay for contraceptive coverage for female employees (Burk 1). According to the Department of Health and Human Services, this includes FDA approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient counseling for all women with reproductive capacity (HRSA 2). While this bill my seem typical on its face, it has many religious and legal groups up in arms. President Obama's position on the First Amendment regarding religion is in direct violation of the Constitution, it is anti-business, and it is abhorrent to many of even the most liberal commentators.

At the end of the day, people go to Hobby Lobby to buy arts and crafts, not to partake in a practice of a certain religion. If Hobby Lobby wanted to still express their religious beliefs and follow the Affordable Care Act, then they could have purchased contraceptives themselves and have employees to pay for them. Hobby Lobby could have simply issued them by putting them in the employees’ bathrooms at a certain base price. Most importantly, if Hobby Lobby truly cared about the wellbeing of their employees, then they could have referred them to a place where contraceptives are available at low prices or could have simply given them a discount, since they are required by law to provide them in one way, shape, or form. In my opinion not all contraceptives are stopping life as soon as it is created; for example, condoms are a form of contraceptives that are a preventative, but does not end life at conception. Finally, it is not up to the Greens to play God, because at the end of the end of the day people have free will, and should have free

Hobby Lobby Stores is a chain arts and crafts store around the nation. The owners, which is the Green Family, based a lot the their business and primary rules of their Christian faith. They have filed a court case to not provide birth contraception for their employee’s benefits for health. They feel birth contraception is unmoral and goes against their religion, which is what bases their crafts store. The Greens sued Kathleen Sebelius, who is the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, on September 12, 2012 for the requirements of providing birth contraception. The court allowed their request of not providing this benefit to Hobby Lobby’s employees.

Applying the new framework to Hobby Lobby reveals how granting the religious exemption to closely held corporations can not only coexist with the government’s interests of making sure female employees have access to the four controversial contraceptives, but it also best ensures this interest. For the sake of argument, let’s first consider what would happen without the exemption. Closely held corporations would have three choices. They could either ignore their religious convictions, provide incomplete healthcare coverage by paying an extra $100 per day per employee fee, or offer no coverage and pay $2000 per year per employee (11). However, these companies will almost never choose to ignore their beliefs, therefore really only giving them the latter two choices. In the event of the second choice, women would be offered no alternative, affordable healthcare option that grants them access to the

In fact, under the Affordable Care Act only non-profits are exempted from covering contraceptives in their health insurance plans (Bassett). While this saves churches and other non-profits that are against birth control, what does it do for the business owners who are personally against birth control coverage? An example would be David Green, who is the founder of Hobby Lobby, a craft store that supports Christian beliefs. According to Green “This legal challenge has always remained about one thing and one thing only: the right of our family businesses to live out our sincere and deeply held religious convictions as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution…Business owners shouldn’t have to choose between violating their faith and violating the law” (Howell). Green has voiced his objections to government mandated birth control through the court