- Posted August 25, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Court denies Catholic groups' contraceptive mandate request
By Travis Loller
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A federal appeals court last Friday reaffirmed its prior judgment that the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act does not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The opinion by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals primarily concerns six Catholic groups in Tennessee and Michigan that claim the mandate violates their religious beliefs.
As religiously affiliated nonprofits, they don't have to pay directly for their workers' birth control. Instead, they can seek an accommodation that requires their insurance providers to pay for it. But the groups still say the scheme makes them complicit in the provision of contraception.
This is the second time the 6th Circuit has considered the Catholic groups' request to temporarily exempt them from the requirement while their case makes its way through the courts.
The 6th Circuit denied the request in June 2014, but the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that opinion and asked the lower court to take up the case again. This time, the judges were to take into account the high court's Hobby Lobby opinion, also issued June 2014. That opinion found that closely held for-profit companies such as Hobby Lobby could seek an accommodation so that they do not directly pay for their workers' birth control, just as nonprofits are allowed to do.
Last Friday, the 6th Circuit reaffirmed its earlier ruling denying the temporary exemption to the Catholic plaintiffs. In its opinion, the court noted the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling discussed the religious accommodation favorably.
"The Court did not suggest that the accommodation violated RFRA," or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The 6th Circuit also noted that its decision to deny the temporary exemption was in keeping with similar rulings in other circuits.
Three additional plaintiffs in the case are considered religious employers and are completely exempt from the contraceptive requirement.
"There is no need for them to object to the contraceptive mandate because, for these entities, nothing has changed," the court wrote.
Published: Tue, Aug 25, 2015
headlines Oakland County
- Meet the Judges
- Owner of twice-sunken Lake Michigan barge pleads guilty to felony
- Justice Dept. reaches civil settlement with victims abused by Lawrence Nassar
- Oakland County, Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency launch Oakland County Senior Chore Pilot Program
- U.S. Immigration Court judge to be keynote speaker at law school’s Law Day virtual celebration
headlines National
- New Legalese: You may have heard a deepfake, but what about ‘Twiqbal’?
- From Intake to Outcome: An in-house lawyer’s guide to matter management solutions
- 2 BigLaw firms in merger talks that could produce 1,600-lawyer firm with top 50 revenue
- Send in the paralegals
- Lawyer reprimanded after mistakenly emailing opposing counsel with plan to avoid judge’s call
- ‘I don’t play well’ judge who threatened to track down, jail misbehaving litigant gets tossed from case