Written by Don Byrd
SCOTUSblog reports the U.S. Supreme Court today released the oral argument calendar for late March and early April. Included in the calendar are high-profile religious cases, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties. The arguments will be heard Tuesday, March 25.
These challenges will bring the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to the forefront as the justices discuss whether the law protects closely-held secular companies from the requirement to provide health care insurance that includes contraception coverage.
Last year, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Hobby Lobby that the company owner’s religious expression through their company is protected by RFRA. Accordingly, the contraception mandate was found to violate their First Amendment rights. In Conestoga Wood, on the other hand, the 3rd Circuit held corporations cannot exercise religion, thus RFRA offers no protections.
Stay tuned.
