Burwell V Hobby Lobby Case Study

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, born Joan Ruth Bader, was born in New York, New York on March 15, 1933. She was the daughter of Russian immigrants Nathan and Celia Bader. Her father owned a small clothing shop while her mother cared for Ginsburg and her older sister, who died of meningitis at age 6. Her mother took a vested interest in Ginsburg’s education. While Ruth was in school, her mother noticed many of the girls in her class were also named Joan, so she suggested that her daughter be called Ruth instead. At age 15, Ginsburg graduated from high school. Her mother died before she could see her graduate high school. Ginsburg met her husband Martin while she was attending Cornell University her freshman year.
She became an advocate for women’s rights after she was denied a promotion for being pregnant at her job at the local social security office. She was given a demotion for getting pregnant.
Hobby Lobby. This case centered around a portion of the Affordable Care Act that required employers to cover certain FDA-approved contraceptives. The owners of Hobby Lobby, the Greene family, are devout Christians and felt that they could not do this due to religious freedom. The court ruled that forcing them to cover contraceptives violated their beliefs, and they could not be forced to comply. Justice Alito claimed that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applied to corporations, and forcing Hobby Lobby to comply was burdening them. Ginsburg replied to this with a 35-page dissent paper and forced it to be delivered to the press. The opening line to her set the tone for the entire paper “[i]n a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs.” (Ginsburg