Elizabeth Nolan Brown on the Next Hobby Lobby

Eden Foods is an organic food business that’s
been operating out of Michigan since the 1960s. Eden’s president
and sole shareholder, Michael Potter, is anti-GMO,
pro-macrobiotic diet, and believes in “full transparency–complete
disclosure of ingredients and all handling” for Eden’s products,
which include things like mung beans, buckwheat noodles, plum
vinegar, and dried sea vegetables. It’s not unfair to describe the
company as exactly what conservatives would dream up if they were
parodying an organic foods brand—except for one thing:
Potter is a Roman Catholic who says certain forms of
birth control are abortion.

Potter’s lawsuit against the Health and Human
Services contraception mandate is one of three that the
U.S. Supreme Court has ordered to be reviewed in wake of
its June 30 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Of
course, these three case are just the tip of the proverbial
iceberg, Elizabeth Nolan Brown writes. Nearly 100 lawsuits against
the mandate are pending, state legislatures are getting involved,
and the White House is also threatening action. But this
controversy only exists because the government has made birth
control, and all sorts of health services, an appropriate subject
of state and corporate concern, Brown argues. More laws trying to
compel business owners to run their companies in a certain way
won’t get us anywhere but more court battles. 

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