Hypocrisy was abound on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday as the justices gathered to hear arguments in the case Kathleen Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby. And for protesters shouting in support of women’s reproductive rights, the First Amendment protections offered to the corporation differ if the issue at hand is contraception.
MRCTV’s Dan Joseph headed to the high court to speak with a host of protesters arguing against Hobby Lobby and in support of a woman’s right to contraception.
Many opposing the craft store — which holds its Christian beliefs close — argue it does not have the right to deny female employees access to contraception. And several protesters contended that Hobby Lobby was not ensured the First Amendment right to free exercise because it was a corporation.
“I think that Hobby Lobby is saying that it’s a violation of their First Amendment right for me to make my personal decision. It shouldn’t infringe on my First Amendment rights,” one woman told Joseph.
When asked just what First Amendment right not having access to contraception she was referring to, the woman replied, “my right to make decisions about what is right for me.”
Hm, must’ve missed that clause when reading the Bill of Rights.
Others asserted that Hobby Lobby was pushing their religious beliefs on employees, which, in turn, violated their own religious beliefs — a “slippery slope,” one man said.
Convoluted, but … OK.
When the issue came to whether Hobby Lobby, a corporation, was recognized as a person or private entity — the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission corporations are people — many said they were just businesses.
“It’s about whether a corporate entity, a corporate entity, can claim individual religious freedom. We object to that,” one emboldened protester, who owns her own business, said.
When that same protester, however, was asked if she had the right to display a sign supporting Planned Parenthood in the window of her business, the rules changed.
Joseph asked the woman if the government had the right to ask her to remove the theoretical Planned Parenthood display from the window.
“Why would the government do that?” the protester asked. “I have the right to free speech. I’m not acting as a business. I’m an individual, so in my business context, I would act in support of my mission and in support of my business principles.”
Funny how that works.
Others argued that putting up a sign in support of different causes — a right guaranteed under the First Amendment — is OK.
Hobby Lobby sued Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. The company argues that the mandate, which requires an employer provide contraception to all employees, is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
Hopefully the Supreme Court justices are a bit more rational than those protesting the case.
Watch Joseph discuss the Hobby Lobby case with protesters below, courtesy of MRCTV
