Hobby Lobby wins contraceptive mandate case

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The 5-4 ruling exempts religious employers from Obamacare’s requirement to provide abortifacient drugs

Pro-life demonstrators react to the Supreme Court’s decision. Associated Press/Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Hobby Lobby wins contraceptive mandate case

Hobby Lobby and other companies whose owners object to contraceptives that could cause abortions do not have to comply with the government’s mandate to provide them for their employees, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the 5-4 decision, from which the court’s four liberal justices dissented.

Although a victory for religious liberty, the ruling is relatively narrow. It only applies to corporations that are under the control of a few people, where the companies are essentially synonymous with their owners. It also only applies to the contraceptive mandate, not health insurance requirements generally.

Stay tuned for more details on the ruling.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Leigh Jones

Leigh is features editor for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate who spent six years as a newspaper reporter in Texas before joining WORLD News Group. Leigh also co-wrote Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope, and Resurrection in the Face of One of America's Largest Hurricanes. She resides with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas.