Topic: Religious Lobbying

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments regarding Hobby Lobby's objection to providing four specific types of emergency contraception (Plan B and Ella) under the Affordable Care Act. The private, family-owned corporation argues that these methods violate their biblical beliefs regarding the beginning of life. The hosts clarify that the company still provides 16 other forms of birth control.

The discussion focuses on Democratic reactions to the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, specifically criticizing comments by Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. The hosts argue that the rhetoric regarding "five white guys" on the court is racist and sexist. They specifically mock Pelosi's verbal slips and her misunderstanding of the specific contraceptives involved in the legal case.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that closely held for-profit corporations can opt out of the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate based on religious objections. Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion relied on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Dictionary Act, which defines corporations as "persons." The ruling specifically addressed four types of contraceptives that the owners believed were abortifacients.

The hosts discuss the Hobby Lobby legal challenge against the contraceptive mandate. They argue that the company is not preventing women from choosing contraception but is refusing to pay for "Plan B" insurance coverage based on religious beliefs. They criticize the media for "programming" the public to believe the case is about hating women.

An "independent" parliamentary inquiry into online child protection in the UK, led by Claire Perry, was revealed to be sponsored by Premier Christian Media and other religious lobbying groups. The hosts argue the inquiry is rigged to promote an anti-pornography agenda, which has already influenced Virgin Media to begin blocking BitTorrent traffic.