President Barack Obama's pet universal healthcare law received a blow on Monday courtesy of the sharply-divided Supreme Court on Monday, when the 5-4 majority ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby's petition to not comply with a provision of the Affordable Care Act that demands companies to shoulder contraceptives of its employees. The ruling agreed that the contraception mandate in Obamacare imposes a significant burden on the companies' ability to exercise its religious freedom.
As conservatives and pro-life groups celebrate the ruling, pundits poured their thoughts about the controversial decision on social media. As the Huffington Post reported, many have observed that the Supreme Court has no objections to the coverage of pills and pumps that aid a man's performance in preparation for sex.
US Representative Mark Takano wrote in his tweet, "RT if you believe the male justices would have ruled differently if #HobbyLobby case was about Viagra or Cialis."
Twitter user Victoria Aveyard said in her tweet, "Can someone tell me which part of the Bible says vasectomies and Viagra are a-okay with the big guy? #HobbyLobby"
The Huffington Post said that the actual provision that the owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Store, a Pennsylvania wood manufacturer, were able to successfully challenge was the mandate that requires firms to offer insurance plans that meet minimum coverage standards should the said firms take advantage of tax benefits for compensating employees in health insurance as oppose to wages.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a scathing dissent position 35 pages long detailing why the mandatory contraception coverage should stand.
"It bears note in this regard that the cost of an IUD is nearly equivalent to a month's full-time pay for workers earning the minimum wage. The requirement carries no command that Hobby Lobby or Conestoga purchase or provide the contraceptives they find objectionable. Instead, it calls on the companies covered by the requirement to direct money into undifferentiated funds that finance a wide variety of benefits under comprehensive health plans," she wrote.
