Rules for Both Sides, But States Women Must Be Allowed to Obtain Contraception
The U.S. Supreme Court has just released a narrow ruling that says religious employers, like churches, mosques, and synagogues, are exempt from the Obamacare policy that mandates all employers provide contraception coverage for their employees. However, the ruling also states that those same employees must be provided access to that coverage.
In short, initial reports are saying the Supreme Court has “punted,” likely because it was deadlocked and did not want the ruling to merely echo the lower court’s ruling.
The case, Zubik v. Burwell, “was a consolidation of cases brought by religious nonprofits, including The Little Sister’s of the Poor, who objected to the work-around set up by the Obama administration to provide contraceptive coverage to employees of organizations opposed to birth control on religious grounds,” Talking Points Memo reports.
“The non-profits said that even filling out the form or sending a government the letter declaring their objections to covering birth control was a burden on their faith, because it set in motion the process by which their employees received the coverage from their insurers, though that coverage was not paid for or part of the employer plans. Lower courts’ have overwhelmingly rejected the challengers’ argument that the workaround violated 1993’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).”
UPDATE I: 10:48 AM EDT –
In short the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, but in a rare move, suggested an outcome.
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