Coalition for Women's Identities
Friday, 12 September 2014 - 12:55pm

The Coalition for Women’s Response to the Hobby Lobby SCOTUS Decision

On June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. case. The Supreme Court voted in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., in a vote of 5-4 holding, "As applied to closely held corporations, the regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring employers to provide their female employees with no-cost access to contraception violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act." While the vote passed in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., all four female Justices filed a dissenting opinion, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg believes, "the male Supreme Court justices who voted against her in the Hobby Lobby case have a 'blind spot' when it comes to women. She voiced her concerns to news anchor Katie Couric in this video posted on the Supreme Court of the United States Blog Site.

The Coalition for Women (CW) Directorate members have been discussing this ruling throughout the summer. The CW Directorate hopes to begin a dialogue around the implications this ruling has for employees working at private institutions of higher education. We have discovered there is a great deal of information on this topic so we have focused our energies on providing accurate information to CW members. It is not our goal to attempt to sway members one way or the other, but instead to assist our members in understanding the intricacies of this decision. We also feel it is our responsibility to highlight this ruling as an important topic for ACPA administration to review. To meet these ends, we have committed to the following:

First, we have crafted a letter addressed to ACPA leadership and Governing Board asking "ACPA to take a national stance on this significant policy issue facing colleges and universities". This letter was submitted Monday, September 14, 2014 and asks that ACPA formulates a response in regards to the ruling and continues to act as inspirational and influential leaders within a global community of learners.

Secondly, we have partnered with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to offer a Webinar for ACPA members. This webinar will feature Mollie Lam, Senior Manager of the Legal Advocacy Fund at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) discussing the ruling and questions it poses for the future of private higher education. We hope that you will join us for this webinar occurring on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 12:00pm (EST).  You can register for the webinar HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Thirdly, we are taking to social media to garner questions, comments, and insights from our members. It is your voice that we wish to engage. We are active on Facebook and Twitter and hope to especially engage these mediums during the Webinar. Please tweet your questions to us @ACPASCW, #SCWSCOTUS so we can craft the discussion to address what most concerns you.

Lastly, this blog article is intended to promote our upcoming initiatives and to offer links from various sources should you wish to read recent updates on the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. decision. The SCW in no way endorses these articles, viewpoints, or news sources. Our intent is to provide a breadth of information to inspire members to investigate more on their own.

  • For information on the Rules for Birth Control Mandate in relation to the Affordable Health Care Act - Click
  • For information pertaining to the cost of contraception – Click
  • For information on how one University is addressing conflict after this ruling – Click
  • For information on how this ruling relates to other social issues, including immigration – Click

As we state in our letter to ACPA leadership, “the ripple effect of such a decision is still being measured” and we as the Coalition for Women in ACPA are fulfilling our Mission by engaging the community in this meaningful conversation.

Kate Curley, Cassie Nice, Brandi Douglas, & Ali Martin Scoufield
ACPA CW Directorate