A U.S. Supreme Court ruling yesterday against a provision of the Affordable Care Act has been called a victory against Obamacare and a victory for religious freedom, according to two Alabama Republicans.

“I was pleased to see the highest court in the land uphold our religious freedoms and values,” Third District U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers said.  “Business owners should not be forced to compromise their beliefs for an overreaching government program like Obamacare, and I am relieved to see this strong affirmation for some of our nation’s most important principles.”

The congressman’s comment came after the high court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that companies provide insurance coverage for contraception violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.  “Closely-held” corporations owned by families could be exempt from the provision on the basis of religious freedom.

“The ruling is a victory for the free exercise of religion,” said Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. “If the federal government believes free contraception is vital, then surely it can find another way to implement it than by forcing family businesses and religious broadcasters and others to violate their religious beliefs.”

Adopted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act mandated that all company-provided employee health care plans provide coverage for contraception by this year.  Companies not complying could face fines.  The mandate was challenged in a lawsuit filed in September, 2012, by Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based chain of arts and crafts stores owned by a Catholic family, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Mennonite-owned Pennsylvania manufacturing firm.

The contraceptive coverage requirement has also been challenged by as many of 50 other companies, and the full scope of the ruling remains uncertain.  Critics of the decision have called it a blow to civil rights that could adversely affect women’s health.

Rogers called the ruling significant but charged that it does not address Republicans’ primary concerns about the Affordable Care Act.  “Obamacare is one of the worst laws passed in our lifetimes,” he said. “Families and seniors are paying skyrocketing premium increases all while facing fewer doctor choices. This law must be repealed, and Congress must not give up that fight.”

The Supreme Court majority in Tuesday’s ruling included Justices Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts.  Justices Steven Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elana Kagan, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.