Supreme Court To Consider Religious Rights Of Corporations

The Supreme Court agreed to take up a case on the right of for-profit corporations to determine what they do and do not offer employees in health insurance plans. The Justice Department is defending a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires most employers offering health insurance to provide, among other things, birth control. A number of companies sued, claiming that offering contraception violates their religious beliefs. In the Citizens United case, the Court ruled that corporations could participate in the political process like individuals, and this case will determine whether corporations can also assert religious beliefs under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Oral arguments in the case will be held around March 2014, with a decision likely in late June.