Freedom is a core concept in America, but that concept has been twisted. Whose freedom is most important? Individual, corporation, employer or employee — which are we going to protect?
Two court cases involved in the implementation of the ACA show how our politicians and courts have organized the hierarchy of freedom. The ACA mandated contraceptive coverage in employer-based plans. Hobby Lobby, the craft and knickknack store, found it morally objectionable to offer contraceptive care.
The courts agreed that a corporation had a right to make a religious decision in its health care plans; its religious freedom being more important than its employees’ freedom of adequate comprehensive health care. Part of that decision was a waiver that Hobby Lobby and similar companies could submit and the government would provide contraceptive care. This waiver wasn’t enough for the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious organization, and others of their ilk. Their case legally cemented employer beliefs firmly above employees’ freedom of health.
Is this freedom — are employers’ beliefs really more important than ours? If we define a corporation as a person, and its money as free speech, it will inevitably have a louder voice and a further reach than us. Our rights will be subverted as corporate influence grows.
Jason Chandler
Salt Lake City