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July 7, 2014

Supreme Court Issues New Contraception Exemption for Nonprofits 
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The Supreme Court has delivered a second blow to birth control access by
siding with nonprofits that claim religious objections to contraception.
First, on Monday, the court ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that most
religious corporations can refuse to provide birth control coverage to
employees as required by Obamacare. That decision appeared to endorse
possible alternatives, such as having the companies submit a form which
would then shift the burden of coverage to insurers or third-party
administrators. The Obama administration has already offered this
accommodation to religious nonprofits. But in a second order issued
Thursday, the court temporarily exempted the Christian school of Wheaton
College in Illinois from filling out such a form. The decision drew
scathing opposition from the three female justices on the court, who
accused their male colleagues of effectively reversing their stance in
the Hobby Lobby case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the latest move
"risks depriving hundreds of Wheaton's employees and students of their
legal entitlement to contraceptive coverage," and "will presumably
entitle hundreds or thousands of other objectors to the same remedy."

 

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