Hobby Lobby Case: Does God Hate Obamacare?

The Green family prayed on the morning of March 25, as they do every morning. Then they entered the Supreme Court through a side door and took seats in the second row of the public section to hear arguments in Case No. 13-354: Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores. Barbara and David Green, along with their three children, own Hobby Lobby, a national chain of 609 craft stores. Actually, the Greens believe that God owns Hobby Lobby. They are evangelical Christians who say they run their $3.3 billion company based on the teachings of the Bible. Their mission is to honor God with their work.

For the past year and a half, Hobby Lobby has sought a religious exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers providing health insurance cover all 20 federally approved methods of birth control. The company’s plan provides some birth control; the Greens object to Hobby Lobby having to cover four kinds they say are tantamount to abortion. The family and its supporters hope the Supreme Court will rule that for-profit corporations have the same religious rights as individuals or actual churches. Such a decision could potentially give companies sweeping powers to opt out of laws they find immoral, perhaps those concerning discrimination, the minimum wage, family leave, maybe even taxation.