On June 30, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of two corporations that had claimed the contraception coverage requirement under the Affordable Care Act infringed on their religious liberty, the New York Times reported. The 5-to-4 majority relied on a novel notion of corporations as holders of religious freedom when it decided that two “closely held” corporations, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, may engage, like an individual, in “the exercise of religion.” As a result, these corporations may refuse to provide their employees coverage for contraceptives to which they claim a religious objection.

All three of the court’s female justices dissented, with Justice Ruth Ginsburg warning, “The court’s expansive notion of corporate personhood invites for-profit entities to seek religion-based exemptions from regulations they deem offensive to their faiths.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops characterized the decision differently, saying in a statement, “In this case, justice has prevailed…. Now is the time to redouble our efforts to build a culture that fully respects religious freedom.”

The Hobby Lobby decision “is a devastating blow to real religious liberty in America,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice. “The claim that institutions or corporations have a conscience or religious liberty is disingenuous and offensive.” O’Brien pointed out that the majority of Catholics support contraceptive coverage and protections for the individual conscience. Recent polls conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute have found that a majority of Catholics support requiring contraceptive coverage in employee health plans in a variety of settings: publicly held corporations, privately held corporations and privately owned small businesses.