Alexander: Hobby Lobby Ruling Makes Clear that “Government Cannot Force Americans to Defy Tenets of Their Faith Simply Because They Own a Business”

Washington, D.C., June 30 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling that the federal government cannot compel employers to provide coverage for abortifacent drugs that violate their religious beliefs:

“The Supreme Court’s decision today makes clear that the government cannot force Americans to defy the basic tenets of their faith simply because they own a business. I am glad the Supreme Court has preserved our Constitution’s protections of religious freedom from another overreach by the Obama administration.”

Alexander was one of 88 members of Congress who joined in filing an amicus brief on behalf of Hobby Lobby in the Supreme Court case, and has said that “Obamacare is a thumb in the eye to our Constitution’s protections of religious freedom.”

Hobby Lobby had estimated that if it did not meet Obamacare’s regulatory requirement that they include certain contraceptives, including abortifacient pills, in the health care coverage they provide employees, the company would pay fines of about $1.3 million a day. 

Senator Alexander has helped lead the fight against the new health care law since it was proposed in 2009.

At the White House health care summit in February 2010, Alexander gave opening remarks on behalf of all congressional Republicans in opposition to Obamacare. The senator told the president the proposal would raise individual premiums. President Obama disagreed, but multiple studies have proved Alexander correct. (Click HERE to see Senator Alexander's full remarks at the summit.)

Alexander has detailed Republicans’ step-by-step proposals to reduce health care costs and increase freedom and choice for Americans, saying: “Republicans want to repair the damage Obamacare has done and prevent future damage. As responsibly and rapidly as we can, we want to move in a different direction to put in place proposals that provide more freedom, more choices and lower costs. We trust Americans to make these decisions for ourselves. That is the American Way.”

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