Last year, the Supreme Court issued an interesting, controversial ruling in a case called Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (Links to an external site.). The issue: Can a closely held company (a family business, for example) refuse to pay for certain birth control measures as part of its insurance for its employees, as is required by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), if doing so violates the religious faith of the company owners?
Write an essay about this case. Tell your reader what it’s about, and how the majority of justices decided the case. Explain what a concurring opinion is, and why Justice Kennedy wrote one in this case. Explain what a dissenting opinion is, and why two justices issued them for this case. Finally, if you were on the Supreme Court, how would you have ruled, and why?
Submit in Word. Cite your sources.
Additional Resources
The SCOTUS Blog is a great source for all kinds of information about this case: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/sebelius-v-hobby-lobby-stores-inc/ (Links to an external site.)
Adam Liptak, of the New York Times, is one of the best reporters on the Supreme Court. Here’s his take: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/01/us/hobby-lobby-case-supreme-court-contraception.html?_r=0 (Links to an external site.)
This Times editorial explains why it’s a bad decision: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/magazine/what-the-hobby-lobby-ruling-means-for-america.html (Links to an external site.)
These U.S. Senators, writing in the Wall Street Journal, disagree:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/kelly-ayotte-and-deb-fischer-the-hobby-lobby-decision-and-its-distortions-1405469473 (Links to an external site.)
