Supreme Court agrees to rule on birth control insurance mandate

Luke Skywalker · Nov 6, 2015

{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:

The Supreme Court once again will settle a dispute over the Affordable Care Act's 'contraceptive mandate'(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to settle a widespread*dispute between the Obama administration and religious non-profits over insurance coverage for birth control, which is sure to elevate issues of*religious freedom and reproductive rights in next year's*presidential campaign.
The justices agreed to hear a challenge*to the Affordable Care Act from seven different non-profit organizations claiming religious objections, marking the second time in three years the so-called "contraceptive mandate" has come before the court —*and the fourth time in five years it has faced off against President Obama's signature health care law.
Sixteen months after ruling narrowly that private companies*with religious objections cannot be forced to pay for employees' contraceptives,*the high court has been met with a chorus of cries from religious charities, schools and hospitals seeking to get out of the birth control business altogether.*The new challenge asks the justices*to overturn federal appeals court decisions that would force the non-profit groups to take action to opt out of the requirement, rather than receiving the blanket exclusion granted churches and other solely religious institutions.
On one hand, the court has saved Obamacare from legal destruction twice, in 2012 and again this year. But it ruled last year that closely-held corporations, such as arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby*whose owners object to contraception, could hand off providing free coverage of birth control to insurers or others.
USA TODAY
Justices rule for Hobby Lobby on contraception mandate

The solution, the court said, would be for those companies to inform*the government or their insurance providers in writing that they would not pay for birth control, at which point the insurer would pay for it directly. Religious non-profits already had been granted such an accommodation after lengthy negotiations, but they*say even writing a letter or filling out a form makes them complicit.
The petitions to a court generally protective*of religious rights have come mostly from Catholic leaders in New York,*Washington, D.C., and elsewhere,*as well as*religious schools, universities, hospitals and charities. Some object to paying for any contraceptives, others just for those they equate with abortion.

Nuns from the Little Sisters of the Poor gathered in New York in September for Pope Francis' visit.*(Photo: Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images)

Lawyers for the Little Sisters of the Poor argued in their petition that "the*government has put them to the impossible choice of either violating the law or violating the faith upon which their lives and ministry are based." It said*the nuns believe that the opt-out method offered as a solution "would make them morally complicit in grave sin."
Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Little Sisters, noted the Obama administration had recommended the court grant only one case, filed in Washington, D.C. Instead, the justices accepted all the cases pending before them, which will be consolidated for oral argument, most likely in March.
"The government's*on a bit of a losing streak at the Supreme Court*on this issue,” Rienzi said.
Until last month, none of the federal appeals courts to hear the complaints sided with the non-profits' claim that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shields them from complying with the law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a case brought by the Archbishop of Washington, said*those who opt out "are excused from playing any role in the provision of contraceptive services, and they remain free to condemn contraception in the clearest terms."
Perhaps tipping its*hand, the Supreme Court in several cases blocked those rulings from taking effect until the appeals process plays out. Otherwise, non-profits could have been liable for fines of up to $100 per day for each uncovered worker.
Then in September,*the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals came down on the other side, placing what the objectors believe above*what the opt-out method provides.*"We conclude that compelling their participation in the accommodation process by threat of severe monetary penalty is a substantial burden on their exercise of religion," the court said.
That ruling created a split among appeals courts that the Supreme Court has*to resolve. Even the Obama administration, which had been on a winning streak in lower courts, urged the justices to take up the issue.
The battle, like the Hobby Lobby case that preceded it, pits reproductive rights against religious liberty.

Activists supporting the owners of companies Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties rallied outside the Supreme Court in during oral arguments in March 2014.*(Photo: Michael Reynolds, EPA)

More than*99% of sexually active women*ages*15 to*44 have used at least one type of birth control, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which conducts research on sexual and reproductive health and rights. It says about 43 million*women are at risk of unintended pregnancies. Those women have saved more than $1 billion through the new benefit already, abortion rights advocates say.
Abortion rights groups say any additional obstacles placed in their way, including employer exemptions, raises the risk of unplanned and risky pregnancies. *Religious freedom groups say the Obama administration can guarantee women coverage for contraceptives without forcing employers with religious objections to provide it.
Whatever the Supreme Court decides, it's not likely to end the dispute. A ruling for*the non-profits could prompt*for-profit corporations*to seek the same deal. And a District of Columbia district judge ruled in August that the anti-abortion*group March for Life did not have to comply with the law on moral, rather than religious, grounds.
USA TODAY
USA TODAY's 2015 Supreme Court Decision Tracker

Follow*@richardjwolf*on Twitter.

Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed

Supreme Court agrees to rule on birth control insurance mandate

Luke Skywalker

Super Moderator