Little Sisters of the Poor is a Denver-based catholic nun order
Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns, has decided to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, along with other non-profits, after a federal appeals court ruled earlier this month that it must obey the federal contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act.
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, requires employers to provide the full scope of contraceptives, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Houses of worship, like synagogues and churches, are exempt from the mandate while faith-based nonprofits can opt-out by notifying the federal government, which would then allow a third-party insurer to step in to provide coverage at no cost to the employer or employee.
However, the Little Sisters did not receive the automatic exemption but was instead given an "accommodation" that required the Sisters to provide certification allowing the employees to receive contraceptive coverage indirectly to a third-party insurer. The Sisters argued that the action of certifying the indirect coverage in itself burdens their free exercise of religion.
On July 14, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Little Sisters of the Poor, arguing that the mandate is not a burden on their free exercise of religion and that the law already provides accommodations for religious nonprofits by allowing them to file for an exemption. The nonprofits believe these requirements still violate their free exercise of religion.
Mark Rienzi from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is the lead attorney for the Little Sisters said in a statement, “The Sisters consider it immoral to help the government distribute these drugs.”
Supreme Court advocate Paul Clement and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed papers on July 23 asking the Supreme Court to overturn the decision by the appellate court ruling on behalf of “ the Little Sisters as well as the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust, Christian Brothers Services, Reaching Souls International, Truett-McConnell College, and GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention,” according to a statement.
“The government has lost every single time they have made these arguments before the Supreme Court—including last year’s landmark Hobby Lobby case. One would think they would get the message and stop pressuring the Sisters,” said Rienzi.
“We hope the Supreme Court will hear our case and ensure that people from diverse faiths can freely follow God’s calling in their lives,” said Sr. Loraine Marie Maguire, Mother Provincial of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in a statement.
The Court is likely to consider the petitions in late September or early October. If it takes up the case, the case would be heard and decided before the end of June 2016.
