Hobby Lobby became the most recent employer to call on the Supreme Court to review its challenge to the Obamacare contraception mandate this week.
In July a federal judge granted the Christian craft store a temporary exemption from the contraception mandate — which requires all employers to offer insurance that covers contraception or face penalties.
The Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, opposes the mandate on religious grounds.
In September the federal government requested that the Supreme Court consider the case.
Hobby Lobby’s petition to the Supreme Court Monday found the Green family business taking the “unusual step of agreeing with the government that the Supreme Court should hear the appeal,” The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public-interest law firm representing Hobby Lobby, explained in its announcement.
“Hobby Lobby’s case raises important questions about who can enjoy religious freedom,” Kyle Duncan, general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney for Hobby Lobby, said in a statement.
“Right now, some courts recognize the rights of business owners like the Green family, and others do not,” he continued. “Religious freedom is too important to be left to chance. The Supreme Court should take this case and protect religious freedom for the Green family and Hobby Lobby.”
Last week Autocam, a Michigan-based manufacturer, filed a petition calling on the Supreme Court to consider their challenge to the HHS mandate — following a lower court’s dismissal.
According to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, more than 200 plaintiffs have sued the Obama administration over the contraception mandate.