+ +
PAGE 4
MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion.
Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@DanicaCh
@KANSANOPINION The construction. Obviously!
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Hobby Lobby ruling raises bigger questions
SUPREME COURT
Some of us may be confused about the "Hobby Lobby court ruling thing" that happened June 30 and for good reason too. The case brought attention to various political and social issues and raised many questions concerning big business and government regulation. In Burwell vs.Hobby Lobby, two for-profit corporations sought exemption from the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive provision.The regulations implemented by the law required that most contraceptives be covered by insurance for employees.
Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties insisted that these government regulations infringed upon their religious beliefs and charged crippling fines, according to ABC News. At the same time the Religious Freedom Restoration Act prohibits the government from interfering or burdening an individual's exercise of religion.
The verdict: Hobby Lobby exempted four of the 20 contraceptives from their insurance plan.
Many concerns arose from this
including whether or not religion is a viable excuse to bypass government regulation, if women are being denied access of benefits they work hard to obtain, if a business is accountable for its employees' health, and even if the day of conception is the moment sperm meets the egg or birth.
In 2010, The Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruled that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independence expenditures. It also ruled that corporations are people. When referring to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, there is much speculation on whether or not
a corporation could be considered an "individual" exercising religion.
Healthcare is provided in the United States by organizations that are operated by private sector businesses, 18 percent of those are for-profit organizations, according to The New York Times. With this health care system, a corporation is not a public entity and does not serve you in the way your government provides protection over you.
A corporation is run by people who operate their company the way they see fit, not for the public's interest, but for their own.
At the same time, people will often review their health insurance through the compensation package that businesses provide when looking for a job. It's up to the individual to review and consider the parameters of employment when considering whether or not that business serves their own individual interests. If they don't, people are free to work for a business that does.
While that may sound harsh, here's a story that may put things into
perspective:
Cindy wants to open up a PB&J stand. She hires two of her friends to assist her. As part of the parameters of employment, Cindy splits the profit among her and her employees as well as provides free sandwiches for them. Business is going well until Cindy reads an article that peanut butter contains traces of trans fats and is considered unhealthy. As a business owner she decides that she will only sell jelly sandwiches and if customers or employees want peanut butter, they must pay extra. If Cindy's employees and customers don't agree, they are free to find business elsewhere.
It's Cindy's business, after all. Every woman has a right to take care of her body the way she sees fit including a right to have contraception, just as everyone has a right to eat peanut butter and jelly.
Harrison Drake is a senior from Overland Park studying Journalism. Find him on Twitter @Harryson Ford
KANSAN CARTOON
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR OWN CARTOON? EMAIL: EDITOR@KANSAN.
American Perspective by Jacob Hood
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES Length
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line
Emma LeBaut, editor-in-chief elegault@kansan.com
Tom DeHart, managing editor tdehart@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Scott Weidner, business manager
sweidener@kansan.com
Alek Joyce, sales manager
ajoyce@kansan.com
Brett Akagi, media director and content strategist
bakagi@kansan.com
Jon Schiltt, sales and marketing adviser ischiltt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Emma LeGault, Tom DeHart, Scott Weidner and Alek Joyce
1
+