Written by Don Byrd
The Oklahoman reports that Hobby Lobby will continue to provide employees with health coverage that does not include contraception, despite the law requiring it that goes into effect January 1. The announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene and block the law on Hobby Lobby’s behalf. The company could face substantial fines for their defiance.
With Wednesday’s rejection of an emergency stay of that federal health care law by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Hobby Lobby and sister company Mardel could be subject to fines of up to $1.3 million a day beginning Tuesday.
“They’re not going to comply with the mandate,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel of The Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the company. “They’re not going to offer coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in the insurance plan.”
As for the potential fines, Duncan said, “We’re just going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Meanwhile, via Religion Clause, a federal court in Indiana yesterday denied the request for an injunction against the act, agreeing that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is meant to protect individuals from government coercion, not to be used to impose one’s religious beliefs on others.
Read more about the contraception coverage issue in my take on the Top Religious Liberty Stories of 2012.
