Lankford, Hern Praise Supreme Court Decision on Birth Control and Religious Businesses

The U.S. Supreme Court received praise on Wednesday from U.S. Senator James Lankford and Congressman Kevin Hern for its decision that allows religious-based businesses to opt out of offering birth control with their health insurance policies.

Lankford, who was part of an amicus brief asking the Court to uphold the religious exemption, says the decision defends the constitutional right of freedom of religion.

“Today is a great day for our nation and the foundational principle of religious liberty. As the Court said, ‘For over 150 years, the Little Sisters have engaged in faithful service and sacrifice, motivated by a religious calling to surrender all for others. They commit to constantly living out a witness that proclaims the unique, inviolable dignity of every person, particularly those whom others regard as weak. But for the past seven years, they—like many other religious objectors who have participated in the litigation and rulemakings leading up to today’s decision—have had to fight for the ability to continue in their noble work without violating their sincerely held religious beliefs.’ Today, they finally put to rest years of battle to protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”

Hern echoed Lankford’s sentiment.

“This is a decisive win for first amendment freedoms. Our Founders sought to establish a government that does not infringe on the religious beliefs and liberties of its people. With this decision from the Supreme Court today, we upheld the idea that no American can be forced by the government to violate their religious beliefs.

“Thanks to one of many unconstitutional provisions in the Affordable Care Act, The Little Sisters of the Poor were forced to provide free contraception to their employees, a direct violation of the organization’s religious beliefs. I am proud to have supported The Little Sisters of the Poor by signing onto an Amicus Brief with over 160 of my colleagues urging support for the First Amendment rights of the Sisters. I join millions of Americans in celebration and relief that those rights were upheld by the Supreme Court today,” said Hern.


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