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– Claim to exemption challenged –

The Obama administration had argued that Hobby Lobby, as a corporation with 500 stores and 13,000 employees nationwide, couldn’t claim a similar exemption due to the religious beliefs of the Green family that owns it.

“Today’s decision jeopardizes the health of the women who are employed by these companies,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

“As millions of women know firsthand, contraception is often vital to their health and well-being.”

Central to Monday’s ruling was the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1993 law that bars the federal government, without a compelling reason, from doing anything that “substantially burdens” an American’s right to exercise their faith.

Had they refused to comply, Hobby Lobby and a second plaintiff, a Pennsylvania wood-working firm owned by a Mennonite family, would have faced fines as stiff as $1.3 million a day.

“If these consequences do not amount to a substantial burden, it is hard to see what would,” said the ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito, which defined Hobby Lobby as a “closely-held” business firmly in the hands of the family that built it.

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