Auto Dealer Monthly, September 2014

INDUSTRY REPORT When Randy Reed fi rst read through the Aff ordable Care Act ACA he was not happy with what he found Also known as Obamacare President Barack Obamas signature legislation ignited widespread debate over provisions that require employers to provide healthcare coverage including birth control Reed the owner of the tworooft op Randy Reed Automotive group in Kansas City Mo took exception with the inclusion of the so called morning aft er pill a contraceptive method he feels is in violation of his religious beliefs Reed was left with the decision to break the law or his moral code and that did not sit well with him He decided to join other small business owners across the United States in calling for change BURWELL V HOBBY LOBBY In September 2012 the Green family owners of Oklahoma City based Hobby Lobby Stores Inc fi led suit against former Health and Human Services HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Th e Greens claimed the provisions of the ACA that require coverage for emergency contraception violated their Christian beliefs Th e HHS and Sebelius successor Sylvia Burwell argued that the provision guaranteed the right of all women to a certain level of healthcare As expected the case would ultimately be argued before the U S Supreme Court Th e morning aft er pill lay at the heart of the case Each pill or combination of pills contains a high dose of one or more hormones that when taken shortly aft er unprotected sex can prevent pregnancy by 16 AUTO DEALER MONTHLY SEPTEMBER 2014 By Toni McQuilken delaying fertilization or ovulation Th e pill became widely available in the mid to late 1990s inciting a fi erce debate about when life begins and the diff erence between contraceptive and abortion Hobby Lobbys attorneys argued that the Green family believes life begins at the moment of conception and requiring them to cover emergency contraception was akin to forcing them to pay for an abortion Th ey werent alone A suit fi led by another company Conestoga Wood Specialties was joined with the Hobby Lobby case and at least 50 small business owners sought and received temporary relief from off ering the disputed coverage Randy Reed fi led for his injunction in December 2013 then awaited the Supreme Courts verdict Th is decision would stem CONTRACEPTIVE CONTROVERSY Randy Reed was one of a number of business owners who opposed an order to provide coverage for the morning after pill and his side prevailed in a recent Supreme Court decision