Speaking of Dissents: How an 81 Year Old Woman Won Over The Hearts of Liberal America

I know we've been spending a lot of time in class lately talking about the Supreme Court, so I figured this would be a good time to talk about one of my all-time favorite dissents.

Last summer, the Supreme Court heard a case called Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. To summarize, under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, employers must provide birth control options in their health care plans. Hobby Lobby, a craft store company, argued that, since the court had previously defined corporations as people, they could have religions, and therefore have religious objections to providing birth control. 

The court, or, more specifically, five male justices ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby and struck down the birth control mandate section of the ACA. Many argued that this would lead to corporations in the future evading federal laws for 'religious reasons'. 

One woman who argued this was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She wrote a scalding dissent which sparked a viral movement. Some of the sassier lines from the dissent included, "Would the exemption extend to employers with religiously grounded objections to blood transfusions (Jehovah's Witnesses); antidepressants (Scientologists); medications derived from pigs, including anesthesia, intravenous fluids, and pills coated with gelatin (certain Muslims, Jews, and Hindus); and vaccinations?", "Religious organizations exist to foster the interests of persons subscribing to the same religious faith. Not so of for-profit corporations. Workers who sustain the operations of those corporations commonly are not drawn from one religious community", and "It bears not in this regard that the cost of an IUD (birth control) is nearly equivalent to a month's full-time pay for wokrers earning the minimum wage."

This dissent soon became a battle cry for many who felt that the court’s decision was not only wrong, but dangerous. Justice Ginsburg's dissent was set to music. She was afforded the nickname "Notorious RBG", in the style of Biggie Smalls. Notorious RBG has inspired a Tumblr, this video, and countless merchandise - my friend gave me a tshirt (see image below)! 

And what does this eighty-one-year-old woman think of her new nickname? RBG says she's incredibly flattered and admits to owning a large supply of Notorious RBG shirts.

Me too, Ginsburg. Me too.