By Constitution Staff

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a privately held retail chain, filed a federal lawsuit on September 12 against the Obama administration over regulations issued for implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The Department of Health and Human Services rules require health insurance companies to cover preventive care services, including contraception, to women at no cost. The regulations took effect on August 1, and the requirements would impact Hobby Lobby, which is self-insured, on January 1. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to allow the company to avoid potential penalties of more than $1 million per day, said Kyle Duncan, General Counsel for the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed the action on the company's behalf.

The company says it would face a $1.3 million per day fine if it fails to comply with the mandate. The lawsuit also seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting the mandate's enforcement against the Green family and its businesses, "and other individuals and organizations that object on religious grounds to providing insurance coverage for abortion-causing drugs and devices, and related education and counseling." The rules require religious employers to pay for or refer women for abortion-causing drugs, violating their conscience or religious beliefs.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and the first court hearing is scheduled for October 24. The suit names three federal agencies along with their cabinet-level heads as defendants: the Department of Health and Human Services and Kathleen Sebelius; the Department of Labor and Hilda Solis; and the Treasury Department and Timothy Geithner. The lawsuit claims the federal Health and Human Services mandate violates the business owners' freedoms of religion and speech.

The company is opposing the requirement which it says forces the Christian-owned business to provide, without co-pay, the "morning after pill" and "week after pill" in their health benefits. "These abortion-causing drugs go against our faith, and our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families," said David Green, Hobby Lobby CEO and founder. "We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate." Hobby Lobby is the largest and only non-Catholic-owned business to file a lawsuit against the mandate.

Washington politicians cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living, said Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "Every American, including family business owners like the Greens, should be free to live and do business according to their religious beliefs."

The arts and crafts retailer operates from a mile-long distribution and manufacturing complex in Oklahoma City. It began as Greco Products, a miniature picture frame company founded in a garage by David Green in 1970. Hobby Lobby officially began operation 1972 with a single store and has been growing ever since. Today, Hobby Lobby has 514 stores in 41 states offering more than 65,000 crafting and home decor products. The company also includes 35 Mardel stores which sell Christian books and education supplies in seven states. The company employs more than 22,500 people nationwide.

Green says, "the foundation of our business has been, and will continue to be strong values, and honoring the Lord in a manner consistent with Biblical principles." The Green's, who close of all of their stores on Sunday, have long been public about their religious beliefs. "We believe wholeheartedly that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has been successful," says Green.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions -- from Anglicans to Zoroastrians. For 18 years its attorneys have been recognized as experts in the field of church-state law, and they recently won a 9-0 victory in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of "the most important religious liberty cases in a half century." The Becket Fund led the charge against the unconstitutional HHS mandate, and in addition to Hobby Lobby represents: Wheaton College, Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University, the Eternal Word Television Network, and Ave Maria University.