Under The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Closely Held Corporations Are Excused From Obamacare’s Contraceptive Mandate.

The United States Supreme Court was called upon to decide whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 [RFRA] permits the United States Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] to demand that closely held corporations provide health insurance coverage by methods of contraception that violate sincerely held religious beliefs of the companies’ owners. One of the companies is owned by a couple who are devout members of the Mennonite Church, which opposes abortion and believes that “the fetus in its earliest stages . . . shares humanity with those who conceived it.” That couple believes they are required to run their business “in accordance with their religious beliefs and moral principles.” Another couple are Christians, and their business statement of purpose commits them to “honoring the Lord in all they do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” They sued HHS and other federal officials under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, seeking to enjoin application of the Affordable Care Act’s [ACA or “Obamacare”] contraceptive mandate insofar as it requires them to provide health insurance coverage for four FDA-approved contraceptives that may operate after the fertilization of an egg, including the “morning after” pill and two types of intrauterine devices. The high Court ruled: “The contraceptive mandate, as applied to closely held corporations, violates RFRA. Our decision on that statutory question makes it unnecessary to reach the First Amendment claim.” (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (U.S. Sup. Ct.; June 30, 2014) 134 S.Ct. 2751, [189 L.Ed.2d 675].)