By Jordan Payne
In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., an all male Supreme Court majority held that closely held corporations controlled by religious families could not be required to pay for contraceptive coverage. While purporting to recognize that all individuals have the constitutional right to contraceptives, the Hobby Lobby Court effectively eliminated the right for female employees in religious corporations to access contraceptive coverage through employer-covered health plans. This analysis will consider how Hobby Lobby, in practice, violates federal anti-discrimination law under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (“PDA”). As an avenue around Hobby Lobby’s seemingly dire consequences, activists ought to bring a Title VII challenge to employer insurance policies that deny women the right to contraceptive coverage.