(UPDATED) Everyone Praying For Hobby Lobby To Be ‘Victorious’ Today Is Praying For A Mess Of Civil Rights Disasters

I’m not entirely sure what all the people who say they are praying for Hobby Lobby to be victorious today if the US Supreme Court decides a corporation can have religious beliefs knows what exactly this means. I have a hard time understanding all the ramifications myself, but it goes far beyond not wanting women to have access to IUDs and Plan B. We know that Hobby Lobby feels that the Obama administration has “declared war” on religious liberty by mandating that businesses who provide health insurance for their employees include contraception in the coverage. Hobby Lobby doesn’t agree with this. Many other people don’t agree with this:

But what a lot of these people don’t understand is that if Supreme Court gives corporations rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, this could affect a lot more things than the reproductive rights of women. Forbes explains it like this:

”Scientology-believing employers could insist on non-coverage of its nemesis, psychiatry,” he said. ”Jehovah’s Witness-owned corporations could demand exclusion from surgical coverage, under the theory that so many of such procedures require the use of whole blood products forbidden by their faith.”

This is a lot more concerning to me than this being an argument about abortion drugs. It’s helpful to remember that the religious freedoms case wasn’t even intended for this purpose:

He added that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act now being debated in the Supreme Court was never intended to be used by large companies like Hobby Lobby, which operates 500 stores. Rather, when it was introduced in the early 1990s, it was intended for niche instances like the rights of Muslim firefighters to wear beards or the use of sacramental wine for religious services in otherwise dry counties.

Not intended for major corporations to mandate the birth control of their employees. Or fire women who are single and pregnant. Or fire people for using IVF. Or hiring divorced people. Or any numbers of other things specific religions don’t believe in if certain business owners also demand their religious freedom.

I’ll be watching the Hobby Lobby ruling closely not only because I think it’s ridiculous to demand what sort of birth control employees can use, but also because I believe someone’s personal evangelism doesn’t make a store where you can buy seasonal wreaths and candles a religious organization.

UPDATE: 10:30

The Supreme Court has ruled that a closely-held company can be exempt from the contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

As you can imagine, I can’t even. But be sure and ask your employers what their religious beliefs are so you can stone them if you disagree with them.

(Image: Twitter)