Hobby Lobby case hovers over Obamas visit with Pope Francis
President Obamas meeting with Pope Francis was cordial, but the two leaders remain deeply divided on one particular issue: contraception. While Pope Francis, along with…
Customers walk to a Hobby Lobby store in Dallas on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The arts and craft supply company owned by a Christian family asked a judge Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 to block a portion of the new federal health care law, claiming that mandated coverage for certain birth control violates its religious freedom rights. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
President Obamas meeting with Pope Francis was cordial, but the two leaders remain deeply divided on one particular issue: contraception.
While Pope Francis, along with many in the Catholic Church, eschews artificial birth control, President Obama has made access to contraception a central piece to his Affordable Care Act.
SEE ALSO: Pope delivers on his promise to a 10-year-old girl
The presidents visit to Rome comes at a particularly tense moment. Christian-owned business Hobby Lobby, along with several other businesses, is currently embroiled in a legal battle to fight for exemption from Obamacares so-called contraceptive mandate.
During the meeting at the Vatican, the two men discussed not only religious freedom but immigration rights, poverty, and the Syrian conflict.
Differing Views
The Catholic Church has officially banned artificial birth control since Pope Paul VIs 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, according to Reuters.
Though the Argentine Pope Francis is relatively progressivehe has especially angered some Catholics by suggesting that the church re-consider its stance on same-sex civil unionshe supports the contraception ban.
In the Vaticans report on the 52-minute meeting between the pope and Obama, it noted that the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection were of particular relevance for the Church in the United States, a reference to the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive clause.
Clearly, President Obama takes a different stance on birth control: His Affordable Care Act requires all employers offering health care insurance to provide plans that include contraceptive coverage. This has provoked wrath from numerous Catholic and other religious leaders.
In reflecting on the meeting with Pope Francis, Obama suggested that they spoke the most about how to help the poor and marginalized around the world and how to confront conflicts that test the limits of peace, according to the NY Times, rather than directly about the ACA.
However, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the popes second-in-command, did ask President Obama about the ACA during a separate meeting. Reportedly, the U.S. leader responded to Parolin by explaining that Obamacare exempts most religious organizations from the contraceptive mandate but that Obama would continue a dialogue with the U.S. Conference of Bishops to make sure we can strike the right balance.
Hobby Lobby Case
While Pope Francis may work in subtleties, Catholics and other Christians in the U.S. are being a bit more direct about their disapproval of the Affordable Care Act.
Sebelius v Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialities Corp. v Sebelius both presented arguments last week against the ACAs contraceptive mandate. Owners of both stores believe that some types of contraception are tantamount to abortion, because they can prevent a fertilised egg from implanting in the uterus. Some disapprove of all artificial birth control, while others only object to methods like the morning after pill.
US President Barack Obama met with Pope Francis, Thursday, March 27, 2014 at the Vatican. Obama called himself a “great admirer” of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican with the pontiff.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
SEE ALSO: Should you pay a penalty for being uninsured?
The two businesses have cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, but the case is far from cut and dried. Obamacare exempts religious employers, such as churches, and religious-affiliated non-profits, from financially supporting contraception of which they disapprove, but the ACA has no such exception for profitable companies.
How Does This Affect Me?
According to Reuters, the Obama administrations lawyer Donald Verrilli said that allowing Hobby Lobby and others to claim an exemption on religious grounds has dangerous implications.
He argued in particular that the court would be skating on thin constitutional ice because of the impact it would have on women employees. Essentially, if Hobby Lobby sets the precedent for skirting the contraceptive mandate, it opens the door for innumerable other companies to potentially drop birth control coverage.
Verrilli and others see that as unequal treatment based on gender. It could also create a conflict for women who need birth control but work at a for-profit business with owners who disapprove of the mandate. If a woman cant get covered contraception because of her employers beliefs, does that, in turn, represent forcing religious beliefs on female employees who disagree with the Catholic contraceptive ban?
On the other hand, not allowing business owners to practice their religious beliefs is also dangerous. With 24 percent of the U.S. calling themselves Catholics, according to the Pew Research Center, and almost half of all U.S. Catholics under age 40 of Latino descent, the Hobby Lobby case affects many who see religion as central to their lives.
Compounding the impact on Latinos is the fact that theyre one of the most uninsured and underinsured groups in the country. Obamacare has made a push to get more Latinos enrolled, but getting insurance may be bittersweet if a large population of Catholic Latinos are unhappy with how contraception is handled under the Affordable Care Act.
Between the Hobby Lobby case and President Obamas visit to Pope Francis, its likely that contraception will continue to be a common topic for debate in the months to come. Who knows, maybe Francis will visit us and provide more of his thoughts: Obama finished the visit with the pope by inviting him to the White House.
SEE ALSO: The 1st anniversary of Pope Francis
