Supreme Court agrees to hear cases on contraceptive mandate

[FarCenter]

The Supreme Court has agreed to revisit Obamacare, this time to review the requirement that most employers provide contraceptive coverage in their employee health insurance plans. The court accepted two cases, centered on the issue of religious expression, that represent the second challenge to the health law heard by the high court.

In Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., the Obama administration is asking the court to reverse a lower court decision that sided with the craft-store chain’s owners, who say they have religious objections to providing access to contraception to their employees. The court also agreed to hear a similar suit brought by Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp.

...


The central question in both the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga cases is whether a for-profit, secular corporation can claim constitutional protection from the provision based on religious grounds. The cases will be combined and given one hour of oral arguments before the justices next spring.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/supreme-court-religious-birth-control-mandate-100384.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. Here's the Whitehouse press release

Statement by the Press Secretary Regarding Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

The health care law puts women and families in control of their health care by covering vital preventive care, like cancer screenings and birth control, free of charge. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court to consider a legal challenge to the health care law’s requirement that for-profit corporations include birth control coverage in insurance available to their employees. We believe this requirement is lawful and essential to women’s health and are confident the Supreme Court will agree.

We do not comment on specifics of a case pending before the Court. As a general matter, our policy is designed to ensure that health care decisions are made between a woman and her doctor. The President believes that no one, including the government or for-profit corporations, should be able to dictate those decisions to women. The Administration has already acted to ensure no church or similar religious institution will be forced to provide contraception coverage and has made a commonsense accommodation for non-profit religious organizations that object to contraception on religious grounds. These steps protect both women’s health and religious beliefs, and seek to ensure that women and families--not their bosses or corporate CEOs--can make personal health decisions based on their needs and their budgets.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/11/26/statement-press-secretary-regarding-sebelius-v-hobby-lobby-stores-inc