Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
When the Obama Administration issued the mandate requiring companies to provide insurance coverage including contraception and abortion drugs, it included an extremely narrow religious exemption. Opponents of the exemption pointed out that Jesus himself would not qualify, since one of the requirements to get the exemption is that you couldn't serve people outside of your religion.
Most of the fight over the mandate has come from religious organizations -- schools, hospitals and other charities -- that view the requirement to provide contraception and abortion drugs as a serious violation of religious liberty.
But the mandate provides absolutely no exemptions for business owners who can't in good conscience provide life-ending drugs to employees.
Take the Green family of Oklahoma. They own the large Hobby Lobby chain. They are confessed Christians who give employees Sundays off and put out full-page ads each year proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. The family directs its profits for a variety of charitable causes, including Christian higher education and the acquisition and development of the largest private collection of biblical antiquities in the world.
If they don't provide coverage for abortion drugs in their employee health plan, they face fines of $1.3 million each day. This being a rather serious burden for practicing Christians such as the Greens, they petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene and provide temporary relief from the the fines until the case was decided by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said "nice try." From CNN:
Wednesday evening, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals from the 10th Circuit Court, said the company failed to meet "the demanding standard for the extraordinary relief," and that it could continue to pursue its challenge in lower courts and return to the higher court, if necessary, after a final judgment.
Why, $1.3 million a day to run roughshod over someone's religious liberty is a win-win in some people's world.
For its part, Hobby Lobby says it will continue its fight. Those of us who care about liberty, including religious liberty, should commend those companies that are on the front lines battling and facing the costs of a tyrannical government that loves the destruction of life more than its flourishing.
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May '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Nowadays the Nazis running the death mills are modern American Liberals. Der Schicklgruber would be proud of them.
Oct '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
A gentle reminder: "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" Deuteronomy 30:19
Our nation has voted for it's choice. And God is not mocked.
Sep '12
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Good gosh. Hobby Lobby isn't even taking a corporate position that the drugs should be illegal...they just don't want to provide them. Unbelievable. The tolerazzi are not only intolerant of peaceful dissent, conscientious objection, but now must use the law to compel others to act according to their narrow views.
Sep '12
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Very good...but not very gentle :). What hurts me is people I love and care about who have the best of intentions, but are collectively making very dangerous choices for the future of our country.
raycon and lindacon: A gentle reminder: "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" Deuteronomy 30:19
Our nation has voted for it's choice. And God is not mocked. · 8 minutes ago
May '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Gleichschaltung. We're being brought into line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung
Dec '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
They should close their shop and cancel the policies until such a time as this is resolved.
Apr '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
The grim thing with Hobby Lobby, as opposed to a similar situation from earlier this year with Chik-Fil-A, is that while lots of folks need to eat every day, not as many folks need a grapevine wreath or tchotchke to decorate their home several times a day, and their stores are neither as ubiquitous nor as immediately visable from major roadways as CFAs are. So they're not as able to get the media visibility that can propel a groundswell of support the way CFA was.
What that means is, if they remain in business and fight, it's probably not going to be long before they either have to close or capitualate (sorta the same thing, really).
This makes as much sense as 'sin' taxes. Dear Leader wants mo' money for his stash, so he runs the businesses that would pay taxes out of existence.
I hope the Greens fight this, though, and I hope they refuse to pay any fines, ever.
Sep '12
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
But it's all OK because Sotomayor is a wise Latina.
Jan '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
I'm still astounded how anyone could argue that failing to provide contraception violates civil rights.
This "right" was "discovered" by a set of bureaucrats at HHS, and yet the liberal legal community is determined to impose it on everyone.
This one just infuriates me. Most of the time I can blow off political disagreements, but this one is nothing more than a case of raw political power being masqueraded as political and moral authority.
They don't care about the consent of the governed; the underlying principles of running a government be damned.
Mar '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Freedom of association? What freedom of association?
Sep '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
I would hope that Hobby Lobby will refuse to provide the coverage--and will refuse to pay the fine.
And ask the federal government to send an agent to come collect it.
And ask customers, their friends, and people who are concerned for religious liberty in this country to stand with them when the feds show up.
(Frankly, I'd hope local Chick-Fil-A franchisers would cater the event.)
Jun '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
If they refuse to oblige, the Feds will seize their bank accounts. The Greens cannot refuse to pay. They can only close their stores. This is disgusting. It is also just the beginning.
Jul '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
I would be more sanguine about their chances if people actually cared about their rights. Outside a protracted and costly court battle, no one will do a thing about the trampling of religious liberty. It used to be something worth fighting for. Americans used to be willing to defy the federal government when it was wrong.
Aug '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
I feel sorry for the Hobby Lobby people. Nut at least women aren't in binders.
Jun '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Several of my favorite quotes on "bureaucracy," all of which apply here:
Oct '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Since when did religious freedom become an institutional right and not an individual right?
Apr '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Exactly the point!
Nov '10
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Not sure I get the point here. Are you questioning the Greens' rights as individuals versus the rights of the corporation (a legal person) -- as an institution -- of which they are the controlling shareholders?
Edited on December 28, 2012 at 8:57pmJun '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
Those ******* are really going for it now, aren't they? [Fricosis Guy was fined one credit for a not-so sotto voce violation of the Ricochet code of conduct.]
Well, good on Hobby Lobby for standing up for them. Even better, one's opening up right around the corner from us in Holyoke.
May '11
Re: Hobby Lobby Faces Millions In Fines Over Abortion Drug
The problem is this:
From the viewpoint of the bureaucrat, if the Greens and Hobby Lobby can avoid a government mandate because of religious beliefs, then anyone can make up a "religious" belief and avoid any government mandate. To the bureaucrat, religion is a scam used to avoid what they want done.