COCHRAN: RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS PROTECTED WITH SUPREME COURT’S “HOBBY LOBBY” RULING
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the “Hobby Lobby” case, which challenged the contraceptive services insurance mandate in President Obama’s Affordable Care Act:
“I am pleased that this Supreme Court decision places some restraint on the reach of the federal government. I supported the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to ensure that core religious beliefs are not trampled by an activist government. This decision, I believe, strengthens the argument that Obamacare, which I opposed from the start, must be repealed and replaced with a law that does not infringe on individual and religious freedoms.”
Cochran was among 15 lawmakers who filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in January that argued Obamacare violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by restricting free exercise of religion by forcing companies, like Hobby Lobby, to offer contraception they believe is abortion-inducing as part of employee health insurance plans.
In that brief, Cochran, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and others argued that: “The government’s refusal to apply RFRA throughout the administrative process has resulted in a mandate that violates RFRA and turns the law of religious freedom upside down. RFRA places a heavy burden on the government and protects religion by default. But the [Health and Human Services] mandate places a heavy burden on religion and protects the government by default.”
Cochran also signed briefs regarding the Hobby Lobby Case with the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which ruled the Obamacare contraceptive mandate violated the company’s rights.
Sen. Thad Cochran Press Release
Wicker Statement on Hobby Lobby Ruling
Miss. Senator Calls Landmark Case a ‘Victory’ for Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 5-4, that it is unconstitutional for the government to mandate that employers provide emergency contraceptives for their employees:
“Americans should not be forced to decide between their faith and their health insurance. Today’s decision is a victory for the First Amendment and the religious freedom it guarantees to every American.”
Background
The President’s health-care law, enacted in 2010, required employers to offer insurance plans that cover certain forms of contraceptives, including abortifacients. Two family-owned companies, Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties, argued that the mandate violated their religious beliefs.
In January, Wicker was joined by 15 Senators and 72 members of the House of Representatives in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the family-owned businesses.
