Supreme Court rules in favour of religious liberty

THE US SUPREME Court on Tuesday ruled 5-4 that companies with religious convictions can be exempt from the requirement that employers provide insurance coverage for contraception.

The ruling in favour of the Hobby Lobby firm recognises that certain commercial businesses enjoy constitutional religious liberties under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) affirmed the “justice” of the ruling.

“In this case, justice has prevailed,” said the USCCB president, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. It remains unclear what effect the ruling will have on the still pending lawsuits from Catholic organisations challenging the Obama Administration’s mandate on all employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception.