Title: The Hobby Lobby Case: Contraception and Religious Freedom
Headings: The Hobby Lobby Case: Contraception and Religious Freedom
The Hobby Lobby Case: Contraception and Religious Freedom
How Did this Case Reach the Supreme Court?
What Did the Supreme Court Decide?
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Content: The Hobby Lobby Case: Contraception and Religious Freedom
The Hobby Lobby Case: Contraception and Religious Freedom
Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last updated November 18, 2018
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case with major implications for current and future reproductive rights laws. In a close 5-4 decision, the Court decided in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. that closely held corporations can refuse to provide birth control coverage to their employees if doing so would violate the corporation's "sincerely held religious beliefs." Hobby Lobby had argued that their Christian faith precluded them from providing birth control as part of a larger health care benefits package. Below, you’ll find an explanation of the background behind the Hobby Lobby case, its implications with regard to contraception and religious freedom, the Court’s decision, and how the it affects both employers and employees. How Did this Case Reach the Supreme Court? The Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in 2010, mandated that health insurance cover birth control. One of the requirements was that employers must pay for insurance that will cover birth control for their employees. Some of these employers, such as Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, were strongly opposed to birth control, in particular the "morning after" pill, which prevents implantation of a fertilized egg.