California and 10 other states are joining forces to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the so-called "contraception mandate" of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Get ready for Obamacare redux!
In the brief filed Monday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris pressed the court to hear the appeal now known as Kathleen Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. The brief contends that the decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, permitting for-profit corporations to assert religious exemptions to certain laws, "could interfere with enforcement of other important regulations that protect public safety, civil rights, social welfare, housing, employment and public health."
"The decision’s reasoning could allow corporate owners to improperly disregard the corporate form and assert religious motivations to avoid regulatory obligations, leading to unfair market advantages and threatening the uniform enforcement of essential state regulation," the brief states.
The melodiously named Hobby Lobby case is likely to be one of the hottest of the high court's 2013 term, assuming it is granted. It will be granted, no doubt.
The Hobby Lobby owners contend regulations implementing the 2010 health care law violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. In particular, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they are challenging a regulation that requires them, beginning July 1, 2013, to provide certain contraceptive services as a part of their employer-sponsored health care plan.
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