Alia Beard Rau

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Center for Arizona Policy is calling Monday's Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case vindication for Arizona's most controversial piece of legislation this year, Senate Bill 1062.

The Supreme Court ruled that corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the federal health-law requirement that they cover contraceptives for women.The justices' 5-4 decision is the first time that the high court has ruled that profit-seeking businesses can hold religious views under federal law.

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Religious rights of corporations was also at the center of SB 1062, which the state Legislature passed and Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed amid international outcry.

SB 1062 would have offered a legal defense for individuals and businesses facing discrimination lawsuits if they could prove they acted upon a "sincerely held religious belief." Opponents argued it would legalize discrimination, in particular, allowing businesses to refuse to serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

"One of the provisions of the Supreme Court ruling was to clarify that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would apply to corporations," said Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod, whose advocacy group wrote SB 1062. "SB 1062 said the exact same thing."

Herrod said attorneys are still going through the lengthy ruling to determine how it could be applied to future state legislation, including a revised version of SB 1062 next session.

"Clearly the court has signaled that there is a broad application for an individual or corporation to claim their religious beliefs," she said. "But we've got between now and January to see what the appropriate next steps will be and we absolutely will continue our efforts to protect religious freedom in Arizona."

The Secular Coalition for Arizona condemned the ruling.

"Today's decision marks a tragic move back to the politics of the pre-Civil Rights era," said Tory Anderson, public policy advocate for the Secular Coalition for Arizona. "The rights women have fought for and earned have been dealt a devastating blow."

The organization was a vocal opponent to SB 1062.

"We will continue to push back against any business or government entity that tries to impose its narrow religious interpretations on the whole of the American people," Anderson said in a statement.