Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

=== Federal law ===
==== Religious Freedom Restoration Act ====
The United States Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Employment Division v. Smith]]'' (1990) that a person may not defy ''neutral laws of general applicability''{{efn|The meaning of ''neutral law of general applicability'' was [[Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah|elaborated by the court in 1993]].}} even as an expression of religious belief. "To permit this," wrote Justice Scalia, citing the 1878 ''[[Reynolds v. United States]]'' decision, "would make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://web.utk.edu/~scheb/decisions/Reynolds.htm|title = Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 25 L.Ed. 244 (1878)|date = 1878|access-date = September 2, 2015|archive-date = July 11, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150711013558/http://web.utk.edu/~scheb/decisions/Reynolds.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> " He wrote that generally applicable laws do not have to meet the standard of [[strict scrutiny]], because such a requirement would create "a private right to ignore generally applicable laws". Strict scrutiny would require a law to be the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest.

In 1993, the US Congress responded by passing the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] (RFRA), requiring strict scrutiny when a neutral law of general applicability "substantially burden[s] a person's{{efn|The [[Dictionary Act]] defines the word 'person' in any act of Congress to include corporations.}} exercise of religion".<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|title=Supreme Court Hears Cases on Contraception Rule|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/us/politics/q-and-a-on-challenges-to-health-laws-birth-control-requirement.html|access-date=March 25, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 25, 2014|archive-date=April 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407173056/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/us/politics/q-and-a-on-challenges-to-health-laws-birth-control-requirement.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> The RFRA was amended in 2000 by the [[Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act]] (RLUIPA) to redefine ''exercise of religion'' as any exercise of religion, "whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief", which is to be "construed in favor of a broad protection of religious exercise, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this chapter and the Constitution". The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the RFRA as applied to federal statutes in ''[[Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita]]'' in 2006.

==== Affordable Care Act ====
Of those Americans who have health insurance, most are covered by [[Private Option|employer-sponsored]] health insurance. In 2010, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed the [[Affordable Care Act]] (ACA), which relies on the [[Health Resources and Services Administration]] (HRSA), part of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] (HHS), to specify what kinds of preventive care for women should be covered in certain employer-based health plans. HHS exempted religious employers (churches and their integrated auxiliaries, associations of churches, and any religious order), non-profit organizations that object to any required contraception,<ref>{{cite web|title=High court worsens pain of Obamacare birth-control compromise|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-health-contraceptives01-20140701,0,3865443.story|access-date=July 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703122917/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-health-contraceptives01-20140701,0,3865443.story|archive-date=July 3, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> employers providing grandfathered plans (that have not had specific changes before March 23, 2010), and employers with fewer than 50 employees. The HRSA decided that all twenty contraceptives approved by the U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) should be covered.<ref>{{cite web|title=A statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius|url=https://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html|work=HHS.gov|access-date=March 25, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702150143/http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html|archive-date=July 2, 2014}}</ref> Companies that refuse are fined $100 per individual per day,<ref name=CNN>{{cite news|last=Mears|first=Bill|title=Justices to hear 'Hobby Lobby' case on Obamacare birth control rule|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/politics/scotus-obamacare-contraception-mandate/|access-date=March 25, 2014|newspaper=CNN|date=March 23, 2014|archive-date=March 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325131329/http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/politics/scotus-obamacare-contraception-mandate|url-status=live}}</ref> or they can replace their health coverage with higher wages and a calibrated tax.