On Moral Grounds: Revisited

As previously discussed in an earlier blog, the United States Health and Human services unveiled a new policy known as the HHS Mandate earlier this year. The HHS requires that all companies which provide private health care insurance also provide coverage for employees to receive contraceptive drugs. Of course, this new policy hasn't been so easily accepted by everyone.

Hobby Lobby in particular has chosen to defy the HHS Mandate on moral grounds. The company’s Christian founders claim that the policy violates their Biblical beliefs, and that offering abortion-inducing drugs to their employees would go against their pro-life principles. While not against all forms of contraception, the company is opposed to providing certain drugs such as the morning after pill, which they view as just another form of abortion.  However, any company that refuses to comply with the mandate will be charged some serious fines. For Hobby Lobby, this could mean up to $1.3 million for every day they fail to provide the required insurance. Despite the mounting cost, the company has joined some 52 other lawsuits against the HHS Mandate, but currently theirs has reached the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Recently the court ruled that Hobby Lobby’s appeal would be decided by nine judges, instead of the usual 3-judge panel, and has even agreed to hear the appeal on an expedited basis. Although some say that this might not be in Hobby Lobby's favor, and that employing all nine judges may just add to the finality of the court's decision should they rule against the company's appeal.

U.S. District Court judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn recently issued the dismissal of a similar appeal made by the ETWN Global Catholic Television Network. ETWN filed the lawsuit for the same reasons as Hobby Lobby, but were turned down based on the court’s reluctance to make a ruling in light of future revisions the HHS has yet to receive.

Despite ETWN’s setback, Hobby Lobby still has a chance at success. Already they've garnered over 37,000 supporters on Facebook alone, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has even promoted a Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day (Jan. 5) to help support the company’s decision.This, combined with a decent amount of Divine intervention, definitely gives the company hope.

In light of their reasons for taking such a stand, Hobby Lobby has every right to fight the HHS policy. As a company that makes no secret of its being founded on Christian values it's understandable why they would be against certain contraceptive drugs, and therefore should not be obligated to supply such to their employees. Based on that line of reasoning, as well as the unfairness of the HHS Mandate requirements being forced on any faith-based company, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should definitely rule in Hobby Lobby's favor.

A View on Same Sex Marriage

In Tyler Hogan's, "Same sex marriage: What's the big deal?", he discusses his point of view on the issue of gay marriage, and why he feels more people should have less of a problem with it. Throughout the editorial, his opinion on the subject is clear and easy to understand, and is backed by a substantial amount of research. He touches on both the religious approach to same sex marriage, as well as the parental implications of raising children in a home with either two moms or two dads. In both aspects, he explores and explains each side of the argument, and adds in his own voice to help convince the reader; even going so far as to encourage his audience to further educate themselves on the subject by providing a video link.
 Considering same sex marriage is such a prominent topic in today's world, I feel he could have expanded a bit more on the political aspect, such as where gay marriage is allowed in the U.S., as well as the rights of the LGBT community, and how people are pushing to expand them. But taking in to account that homosexuality is a particularly broad and highly debated issue, I think this editorial covered the basics well enough, and left me a little more informed than I was before.