.- A federal appeals court has paved the way for arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby to pursue an injunction that would block devastating fines while it continues its lawsuit against the federal contraception mandate.
“Today marks a milestone in Hobby Lobby’s fight for religious liberty,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is defending Hobby Lobby, in a June 27 press release.
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| Hobby Lobby. Courtesy of the Becket Fund. |
Since founding Hobby Lobby in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972, the Green family has seen its company grow to include more than 500 stores in over 40 states.
The family is among more than 200 plaintiffs – including for-profit businesses, non-profit charities, individuals and states – that have filed lawsuits challenging the federal contraception mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The mandate requires employers to cover health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and some drugs that could cause early abortions, even if the provision of these products violates the employer’s deeply-held religious beliefs.
Hobby Lobby’s owners do not object to the provision of contraceptives, which they already cover in their plan. However, they have deep religious objections to the “morning-after” and “week-after” pills which are also included in the required coverage and may cause early abortions by destroying the life of an already-created human embryo.
“It is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured,” said David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby on his case. “Therefore we seek to honor God by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”
The federal government has contended that the owners of “secular, for-profit” companies cannot exercise freedom of religion in their business decisions.
Read more at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/hobby-lobby-moves-forward-in-seeking-mandate-reprieve/
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