Portrait of Justice Ginsburg by Simmie Knox We lost a champion of humanist values and liberal jurisprudence with the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18. One of the most powerful women in US history, she changed fundamental laws before she ever put on the robe and then remained a powerhouse of dissent against tyranny, bigotry, and sexism. Humanists are especially indebted to Ginsburg for her long history of preserving the separation of church and state and protecting reproductive rights. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania , Justice Ginsburg stood fast on both issues. In the Hobby Lobby case, the Supreme Court addressed whether employers could exempt themselves from providing contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The employers, namely David Green and his family, proffered a religious accommodation asserting that contraceptive coverage created a “substantial burden” on their religion, thus violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. While the majority, led by Justice Samuel Alito, agreed with the employers, Ginsburg vehemently dissented: “In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and […]
