{"id":16220,"date":"2013-07-30T05:30:54","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T09:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=16220"},"modified":"2013-07-29T19:18:21","modified_gmt":"2013-07-29T23:18:21","slug":"split-decision-on-contraception-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"Split decision on contraception mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by providing contraception and Morning After Pills to their employees.\u00a0 One court has ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby\u2019s lawsuit, but another has ruled against Conestoga Wood Specialities, which is owned by Mennonites.\u00a0 Such conflicting rulings at this level often lead to the Supreme Court. From Robert Barnes,\u00a0 Contraceptive mandate divides appeals courts \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

A federal appeals court ruling on Friday increased the chances that the Supreme Court in its coming term will need to settle whether secular, for-profit corporations must provide contraceptive coverage to employees despite the owners\u2019 religious objections.<\/p>\n

\n

A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that a Pennsylvania cabinet-making company owned by a Mennonite family must comply with the contraceptive mandate contained in the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n

The majority said it \u201crespectfully disagrees\u201d with judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, who recently narrowly found just the opposite. A split in interpreting federal statutes is usually an invitation for the Supreme Court to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n

This one is novel: The justices have never said whether a secular corporation is protected by the Constitution or federal statute from complying with a law because of religious objections from its owners.<\/p>\n

The 3rd Circuit majority noted that the court has numerous times \u2014 most recently in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission \u2014 found that corporations have free speech rights. But it said there was a \u201ctotal absence of caselaw\u201d to support the argument that corporations are protected by the Constitution\u2019s guarantee of free exercise of religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if we were to disregard the lack of historical recognition of the right, we simply cannot understand how a for-profit, secular corporation \u2014 apart from its owners \u2014 can exercise religion,\u201d wrote Circuit Judge Robert E. Cowen, who was joined by Circuit Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie.<\/p>\n

Cowen said it did not seem plausible that an entity \u201ccreated to make money could exercise such an inherently \u2018human\u2019 right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Circuit Judge Kent A. Jordan said in a dissent twice as long as the majority opinion that if there is a lack of case law establishing a corporation\u2019s religious rights, \u201cthat is in all probability because there has never before been a government policy that could be perceived as intruding on religious liberty as aggressively as the mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n

So making money isn\u2019t inherently human?\u00a0 Notice how the state would be defining what religion has to be:\u00a0 namely, a private, individual matter that is not allowed to impinge upon the external world.\u00a0 Nevermind that such an approach to religion is quite new, with virtually all religious hroughout all history and all cultures having a communal, collective, and corporate dimension.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by providing contraception and Morning After Pills to their employees.\u00a0 One court has ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby\u2019s lawsuit, but another has ruled against Conestoga Wood Specialities, which is owned by Mennonites.\u00a0 Such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,26,27,30],"tags":[575,1615,1870],"class_list":["post-16220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","category-law","category-life-issues","category-medicine","tag-contraception","tag-obamacare-abortion-mandate","tag-religious-liberty"],"yoast_head":"\nSplit decision on contraception mandate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Split decision on contraception mandate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-30T09:30:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-07-29T23:18:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/\",\"name\":\"Split decision on contraception mandate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-30T09:30:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-29T23:18:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Split decision on contraception mandate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Split decision on contraception mandate","description":"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Split decision on contraception mandate","og_description":"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2013-07-30T09:30:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-07-29T23:18:21+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/","name":"Split decision on contraception mandate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-07-30T09:30:54+00:00","dateModified":"2013-07-29T23:18:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"Two different federal appeals courts have issued opposite rulings on whether Obamacare can force company owners to violate their religious beliefs by","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/07\/split-decision-on-contraception-mandate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Split decision on contraception mandate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}