June 27, 2013
WASHINGTON—National Health Law Program (NHeLP) executive director Emily Spitzer issued the following statement expressing disappointment in the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit’s decision to allow Hobby Lobby’s challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage requirements to proceed.
“Family planning is a necessary component of standard medical care. Prevailing standards of medical care, long-standing federal policies, and the ACA all recognize that contraception is essential preventive care and critical for the health and economic well-being of women.
Yet the owners of the Hobby Lobby craft stores—a for-profit company—are attempting to use federal law to interfere in the health care decisions of their employees. No woman, regardless of where she works, should have her health subject to the whims of her employer. The Court’s decision to return the case for further review on whether to grant a preliminary injunction is troubling and one we will continue to monitor.”
Hobby Lobby is one of more than 30 businesses challenging the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirements. NHeLP and several other nonprofits filed an amicus brief in March asking the federal Appeals Court to deny Hobby Lobby’s request. NHeLP maintains a docket of all current pending challenges to the ACA, available here.
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