A district court has ruled that the national craft chain Hobby Lobby
may move forward with its lawsuit against the federal contraception
mandate without being penalized for violating the regulation.
“Hobby Lobby and the Green family faced the terrible choice of violating
their faith or paying massive fines starting this Monday morning,” said
Kyle Duncan, general counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, which represents Hobby Lobby, in a June 28 press release.
“We are delighted that both the 10th Circuit and the district court have
spared them from this unjust burden on their religious freedom.”
On June 28, the Federal District Court of Western Oklahoma ruled that
Hobby Lobby will receive a temporary injunction to protect it from
compliance with the federal contraception mandate and the penalties that
accompany it.
The Green family founded Hobby Lobby in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972.
While the company has grown to include over 500 stores in more than 40
states, the family has maintained a strong Christian identity in
operating the business, closing all stores on Sundays, making donations
to charity and maintaining minimum wages that are above the national
standard.
The company and its owners are currently engaged in a legal battle
against a federal mandate requiring employers to offer health insurance
plans covering contraception, sterilization and some drugs that may
cause early abortions.
Finalized last week, the mandate exempts some religious organizations,
but it makes no allowance for the religious beliefs of individuals
running for-profit businesses.
More than 200 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against the mandate,
challenging that it violates their First Amendment right to free
exercise of religion.
The Greens do not object to the provision of most contraceptives, which
are already included in their health care plan.
However, they do have
religious objections to the “morning-after” and “week-after” pills,
which are also included in the mandate.
These drugs can end the life of a
newly-conceived human embryo, causing an early abortion.
The family had requested a preliminary injunction to protect the company
from being subject to fines of up to $1.3 million per day while the
case worked its way through the court system.
Courts on several different levels had previously denied the injunction
request.
However, in December 2012, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
granted Hobby Lobby en banc consideration of its appeal and then ruled
to send the case back to a lower district court for more argument and
further consideration.
In doing so, the appeals court argued that Hobby Lobby and the Green
family had “established a likelihood of success” in their case against
the mandate, and that the regulation “substantially burdened” their
religious freedom, causing “irreparable harm.”
The appeals court also observed that “no one disputes the sincerity of
Hobby Lobby’s religious beliefs,” critiquing the federal government's
claim that the company’s “secular, for-profit” status disqualifies its
owners from exercising their constitutional right to religious freedom.
Hobby Lobby will now be able to continue with its lawsuit free from
threat of penalty.
Further hearings on the case are scheduled on July 19
in Oklahoma City.