Associate Dean Amar Comments on Hobby Lobby Case for KQED
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, was interviewed on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby as a guest on the KQED radio program Forum with Michael Krasny.
In the case, the Court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) prevented the government from requiring Hobby Lobby to violate its religious principles and pay for employee contraception. Although the Court did rule in favor of Hobby Lobby, the decision was tied to the circumstances of the case and does not necessarily provide precedent for other corporations seeking exemptions from federal law, Amar said. Corporations that might claim a religious motivation in discriminating against women or minorities will not necessarily find support, he explained.
"The Court said that because we could simply ask the insurance companies to pick up the tab for providing this contraceptive coverage, there is no reason to force Hobby Lobby to violate its religious principles and pay for and facilitate the contraceptive coverage itself," said Amar. "The question in every case under the RFRA is: ‘Is there another way to accomplish the government's goal without imposing on the individual or corporation who claims a religious tenet?' When it comes to discriminating on the basis of race or gender, I don't see how you can accommodate religious discrimination without imposing a big hurt on women and African Americans and other minorities, so I don't think the Court is going to go there."
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.