Court Rules Hobby Lobby Must Offer Birth Control, or Face Fines

A federal court denied Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.’s request for a preliminary injunction against offering health insurance coverage of “morning after pill” and “week after pill.”  Attorneys for the company plan to appeal this decision.

Without the injunction, Hobby Lobby will have to pay fines up to $1.3 million dollars a day beginning in January if it does not provide the pills, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty said.

Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit against the section of the Affordable Healthcare Act in September that mandates coverage of “abortion pills,” citing the religious beliefs of the Green family, which owns it.

It will be interesting to see how far this case goes — and if, in fact, Hobby Lobby will have to eventually give in.