The Green family, owners of both the Hobby Lobby and Mardel stores, have asked the Supreme Court of the United States for an injunction on the part of the Affordable Care Act that requires health plans to cover birth control. This comes after the family lost their case in a lower court. Here’s the basic facts about this situation.
On August 1, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services added a list of women’s health care to the previous list of preventative care. All health plans must cover everything that has been officially identified as preventative care without charging the consumer for a co-pay, coinsurance, or deductible. The coverage took effect as of August 1, 2012.
One of the things that was added was coverage for all forms of birth control that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This brought controversy. To make a long story short, a compromise was made. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship became exempt from having to include coverage for birth control on employer sponsored health plans. Hospitals, universities, and religious business were not exempt from the requirement.
Hobby Lobby, and Mardel, are stores that are owned by the Green family. In September of 2012, the family filed a lawsuit that challenged the requirement that they must cover birth control in employer sponsored health plans.
Their reasoning was that CEO David Green, and his family, felt that offering coverage for birth control went against their personal religious beliefs. Specifically, the family thinks that morning after pills, or week after pills, are equivalent to abortion. The FDA, however, disagrees. The Green family wanted the courts to prevent the federal government from enforcing that portion of the Affordable Care Act.
The case was heard in November of 2012. U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton denied the request made by Hobby Lobby. He said:
“Hobby Lobby and Mardel are not religious organizations”. He went on to say “Plaintiffs have not cited, and the court has not found, any case concluding that secular, for-profit corporations, such as Hobby Lobby and Mardel have a constitutional right to the free exercise of religion”.
Now, the family that owns Hobby Lobby and Mardel have filed an emergency injunction to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Green family wants the Supreme Court to grant an injunction to stop the portion of the Affordable Care Act that requires businesses to offer coverage for all FDA approved forms of birth control in employer sponsored health plans.
The Supreme Court has the ability to decide if it will hear a case or if it will not hear a case. If it chooses to hear this case, it may or may not decide in favor of the Green family. If it decides in favor of the Green family, the Court would be granting a temporary reprieve on the ACA requirement.
Image by walknboston on Flickr