The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling isn’t anti-woman like the media are reporting [1], according to two influential conservative women. In fact, these women said that they were actually thrilled with the decision.
On June 30, the Supreme Court ruled [2] that for-profit company owners with objections to providing coverage of abortion-inducing drugs for employees could be excluded from the Obamacare Contraceptive Mandate. Concerned Women for America Communications Director Alison Howard compared the decision to a “Super Bowl” for pro-lifers and supporters of religious freedom, while Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins called the event a “huge day” for both sides.
Stressing the benefits to women, Howard pointed out that “a third of those who have filed against the HHS mandate in federal courts are either women owned or women operated businesses.”
“The general idea here today from every speaker across the board,” she told the MRC during the rally outside the Supreme Court, “was that it is an insult to women to think that we would in some way value so-called free contraception or free abortion-inducing drugs over freedom, over religious liberty and over your freedom to have a conscience.”
Addressing media coverage of the case, Howard said that “the most important thing to note about coverage today was that, on the other side, there were no Hobby Lobby employees.”
After the SCOTUS ruling was announced, Hawkins shouted "Woohoo! We won!” adding that “for those on the other side, for those on our side, this was a huge day for all of us.”
Hawkins also highlighted the impact to American women, stating, “You saw today, at our pro-life rally, it was all women. You saw their side, a majority of men. Women are pro-life. Women were against the HHS mandate.” She added that, “We do not believe that $9 a month of birth control suddenly makes us 'equal' to men.”
However, pro-abortion activists waiting to hear the Hobby Lobby decision sang quite a different tune [3].
— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter. [4]