Dec 12, 2020
In Episode 3 of Notorious, we address the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Decided in 2014, Hobby Lobby addressed the contraceptive requirement in a regulation adopted in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act. Hobby Lobby, and other closely held corporations, argued that the requirement was unconstitutional because it violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
A 5-4 majority of the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Alito, struck down the contraceptive requirement. The Court found that closely held for profit corporations are exempt from a regulation that its owners objected to based on the ground of religious freedom. In so holding, the Court determined that there was a less restrictive means of furthering the government’s interest in providing universal contraception.
Lindsey Kaley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberty Union’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty, joined by Patterson Belknap attorneys Michelle Bufano, Joshua Kipnees, and Jacqueline Bonneau, discuss Justice Ginsburg’s scathing dissent, the case’s historical context and the impact of the Court’s ruling on American society.
Related Resources:
For a selection of Justice Ginsburg’s writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider.
For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com.
For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano.
For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson.
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