The Becket Fund FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby

UPDATE: On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a landmark victory for religious liberty, ruling 5-4 in favor of David and Barbara Green and their family business, Hobby Lobby.

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. began out of founder David Green’s garage and has grown from one 300-square-foot store to more than 550 stores across the country, becoming one of the nation’s leading arts and crafts retailers.

Devout Christians, the Green family believes that “it is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured.” Therefore, the Greens seek to honor God by “operating their company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”

Believing their employees should have the opportunity to spend Sundays with their families, the company is closed on Sundays and only operates 66 hours per week.  Indeed, the Greens strive to apply the Christian teachings on respect and fairness to their employees, increasing the pay of Hobby Lobby’s full- and part-time hourly workers for four years in a row. Full-time hourly workers now start at 90 percent above the federal minimum wage.

The Hobby Lobby success story is a true example of the American dream. Now the Greens want to live another American dream: that every American, including business owners like the Greens, should be free to live and do business according to their beliefs.

The HHS mandate requires the family-owned business to provide insurance coverage for potentially life-terminating drugs and devices, contrary to the Greens’ religious convictions—or pay fines to the IRS.

The Green family has no moral objection to the use of 16 of 20 preventive contraceptives required in the mandate, and Hobby Lobby will continue its longstanding practice of covering these preventive contraceptives for its employees. However, the Green family cannot provide or pay for four potentially life-threatening drugs and devices. These drugs include Plan B and Ella, the so-called morning-after pill and the week-after pill. Covering these drugs and devices would violate their deeply held religious belief that life begins at the moment of conception, when an egg is fertilized.

The Greens believe that Hobby Lobby cannot fulfill its mission while paying for drugs and devices that conflict with their beliefs. That is why Hobby Lobby filed suit to defend its constitutional freedom to carry out its mission, consistent with its owners’ religious principles. Their case has now gone all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Green family respects the religious convictions of all Americans, including those who do not agree with them. All they are asking is that the government give them the same respect by not forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on March 25, 2014. On June 30, the Court ruled 5-4 in favor of David and Barbara Green and their family business, Hobby Lobby.

Additional photos available here