Martha Roby lauds Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision
Dothan Eagle
Monday, June 30, 2014

U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, praised Monday's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court protecting retail business Hobby Lobby's right to decide not to pay for employees' contraceptive medication.

The Supreme Court ruled that private, closely-held corporations like Hobby Lobby cannot be compelled by the government to pay for employees’ contraceptive medication if it violates their religious beliefs. In a 5-4 ruling, a majority of justices cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which prohibits the government from burdening the free exercise of religion when there is a less restrictive way to achieve its goals.

"I hope this ruling helps correct the Administration’s bad habit of using agency-level rule-making to interpret laws in such a way that fits its own pet policies," Roby said in a written release. "This time they ran square into the First Amendment’s very clear protection of Americans' free exercise of religion. However, there are many more instances in which the Obama Administration has attempted to accomplish through executive fiat what it could not enact legislatively. I hope we will see more willingness from the Judicial Branch to affirm the separation of powers that is so fundamental to our government."