WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is poised to deliver its verdict in a case that weighs the religious
rights of employers and the right of women to the birth control of their choice.
The court meets for a final time Monday to release decisions in its two remaining cases before the
justices take off for the summer.
The cases involve birth control coverage under President Barack Obama’s health law and fees paid to labor
unions representing government employees by workers who object to being affiliated with a union.
Two years after Chief Justice John Roberts cast the pivotal vote that saved the health care law in the
midst of Obama’s campaign for re-election, the justices are considering a sliver of the law.
Employers must cover contraception for women at no extra charge among a range of preventive benefits in
employee health plans.
Dozens of companies, including the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby, claim religious
objections to covering some or all contraceptives.
The methods and devices at issue before the Supreme Court are those that Hobby Lobby and furniture maker
Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. of East Earl, Pennsylvania, say can work after conception. They are the
emergency contraceptives Plan B and ella, as well as intrauterine devices, which can cost up to $1,000.

The Obama administration says insurance coverage for birth control is important to women’s health and
reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies, as well as abortions.
The court has never recognized a for-profit corporation’s religious rights under federal law or the
Constitution. But even some supporters of the administration’s position said they would not be surprised
if the court were to do so on Monday, perhaps limiting the right to corporations that are under tight
family control.
Several justices worried at the argument in March that such a decision would lead to religious objections
to covering blood transfusions or vaccinations.
Prominent Washington lawyer Paul Smith said another important question is how the decision would apply to
"laws that protect people from discrimination, particularly LGBT people."
In the Hobby Lobby case, even if the court finds such a right exists, it still has to weigh whether the
government’s decision to have employee health plans pay for birth control is important enough to
overcome the companies’ religious objections.
It is no surprise that this high-profile case, argued three months ago, is among the last released.
The other unresolved case has been hanging around since late January, often a sign that the outcome is
especially contentious.
Home health care workers in Illinois want the court to rule that public sector unions cannot collect fees
from workers who aren’t union members. The idea behind compulsory fees for nonmembers is that the union
negotiates the contract for all workers, so they all should share in the cost of that work.
The court has been hostile to labor unions in recent years. If that trend continues Monday, the justices
could confine their ruling to home health workers or they could strike a big blow against unions more
generally.