St. Louis Public Radio - Hobby Lobby Decision Says Corporations Have Religious Freedom; Local Cases Seek More
News Article
By William H. Freivogen
Political split is clear
Area Republican members of Congress were swift to weigh in with their opinions -- and all supported the Supreme Court's decision, which they framed as a matter of "religious freedom." Most avoided specific reference to contraception or contraceptives.
Meanwhile, the region's Democratic members of Congress -- with the exception of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. -- were initially silent.
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was arguably the most outspoken among Missouri Republicans. Besides a statement, he also held a news conference in downtown St. Louis to discuss the court's decision. There he said, "This was never about cost. And never about anything bigger than religious liberty," Blunt said. "But in the constitution in our country, what's bigger than religious liberty?"
In an earlier release, Blunt said, "Today's ruling by the Supreme Court is an important victory to protect Americans' fundamental right of religious freedom. Americans should not be forced to choose between giving up their business for their faith or giving up their faith for their business. I applaud the court's decision today, which simply affirms the fundamental religious freedom that Americans have enjoyed for more than 220 years."
But Durbin said the real issue was the rights of women and workers. "Allowing corporate employers to dictate limits on their employees' health insurance coverage threatens one of the most fundamental health rights in our country," Durbin said. "Women and their families should be allowed to make this critical personal and private decision and not be subject to a for-profit employer's personal, religious beliefs.
As a result, Durbin added, "I will introduce legislation that requires all corporations using this Supreme Court decision to deny or limit contraception services to disclose this policy to all employed and applicants for employment. Workers have a right to know if their employers are restricting the availability of a full range of family planning coverage."
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