The First Amendment: The Hobby Lobby Case Study

The First Amendment: the Hobby Lobby Case

According to the Census Bureau, “the United States has more than 310 million people” (Tannahill 2012). Even though the United States is founded on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, there are various subjects that can often spark a heated debate among Americans. In a society and government that is vastly changing by the year, heated debates over various subjects including gay marriage, women’s rights, religious rights, etc. are often discussed due to multiracial, multiethnic, and religious differences among citizens. In recent months, the ruling made on June 30, 2014 by the Supreme Court in the particular case of Hobby Lobby vs. Burwell has created controversy for the sense that many battle

As can be seen in various other Supreme Court rulings, both the United States Constitution and state constitutions affect civil liberties policymaking. As defined in Think: American Government, civil liberties are “the protection of the individual from the unrestricted power of government” (Tannahill 2012). In particular, the constitutional basis for civil liberties in America includes the First Amendment, which reads that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Tannahill 2012). In other words, the First Amendment prohibits the government from adopting laws that

It’s a privately held corporation that is owned by a group of devout Evangelical Christians. The case of Hobby Lobby vs. Burwell, surrounds around the Affordable Care Act and contraception. Hobby Lobby claimed the government “cannot require businesses to provide drugs that terminate a fertilized egg if they object on religious grounds” (Fox New 2014). Hobby Lobby stated that they would pay for 16/20 contraceptives offered under the Affordable Care Act, but would not offer the four that terminated a possible fertilized fetus, as it went against their religious beliefs and religious liberty. Hobby Lobby also appealed that they have provided contraception to women for years even before the Affordable Care Act. In the end, the Supreme Court recently ruled by a 5 to 4 vote that Hobby Lobby had the right to limit what contraceptives are offered in their employee’s health care plan on religious grounds. The decision was ultimately based around the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which states that “governments should not substantially burden religious exercise without compelling justification”(Tannahill 2012). In other words, Hobby Lobby was going to be burdened with federal fines for not following the law stated under the Affordable Care Act. What also compelled the Supreme Courts’ decision was that Non-Profit Organizations were already exempt