The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Keep religious freedom in corporations

    For many people, Hobby Lobby is just a chain store that keeps creativity alive. More than once, I’ve entered a Hobby Lobby to purchase arts and crafts supplies or décor, but for the past year, every time I walked through the doors I wondered if it would be my last time shopping at Hobby Lobby.

    For at least a year people have been speculating that Hobby Lobby stores all over America would shut down because of their refusal to adhere to the Affordable Care Act, part of which would require the business to fund birth control and emergency contraception for employees as part of their health care benefits.  

    The Supreme Court recently heard the arguments in the Hobby Lobby case, but the ruling has not yet been passed down. In light of this case, there are several factors that I hope the court, and everyone following it, has considered.

    First, this case involves the basic constitutional rights of private business owners. Individuals run their businesses, and I personally agree with Mitt Romney’s statement in August 2011 that “corporations are people,” especially when the corporation is privately owned.

    By restricting the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, the Supreme Court would be shoving a sock into the mouths of many corporation owners, simultaneously restricting more than simply religious expression.

    If females seek birth control from their employers, then they should seek employment at places willing to comply with the Affordable Care Act. Corporations should have to provide essential health care, but I don’t think it is right to force religious people to compromise their beliefs and morals for the sake of others. When a private citizen opens their own business, I believe the owner should have the right to decide to what extent they provide health care benefits, as well as how much they pay their employees and whom they hire.

    Whatever the Supreme Court rules in this case will not be about whether the Affordable Care Act is good or bad or whether modern contraception is good or bad. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on those matters. In truth, I am a religious person, but everyone’s individual religious or non-religious beliefs are not important in this case.

    This ruling, however, will establish limits on freedom of religion and religious expression for all corporations in America, not just Hobby Lobby. This case is not about pro-life versus pro-abortion, and it’s not about religion either. It’s about the basic human rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution. I’m hoping that the Supreme Court will put all arguments over religious and moral issues and truly consider the potential outcomes of this case regarding freedom of speech and expression.  

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