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Washington, DC—This morning, the US Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s rule providing religious employers with an exemption from the Obamacare contraceptive mandate. The Court’s ruling affirms the right of organizations like Little Sisters of the Poor to continue operating according to their deeply held religious beliefs. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, one of the principal architects of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), offered the following statement after the Court announced its decision:
"The Little Sisters case was about a lot more than contraceptives and a group of Catholic nuns. It was about the right of religious persons everywhere to practice their beliefs freely without interference from the federal government," said Hatch. "With today's decision, the Supreme Court upheld that right, marking a significant victory for people of all faiths."
In addition to his leadership on RFRA, Senator Hatch wrote the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and helped spearhead passage of the International Religious Freedom Act. As Chairman Emeritus of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, he continues to lead on issues related to freedom of conscience, religion, and belief. Last year, the Foundation convened multiple faith leaders for a religious freedom symposium and shortly thereafter published a report titled Protecting our Religious Liberty. This year, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced that Hatch will be receiving the organization’s highest honor, the Canterbury Medal, in recognition of the Senator’s lifelong dedication to preserving rights of conscience.
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