The Details:

In a tweet on August 13, legal advocacy group Becket said, “BREAKING: In a nationwide ruling against a Trump Administration religious conscience rule, a federal district Court today ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Court sided with Pennsylvania and New Jersey in their years-long effort to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraception and abortion coverage in their healthcare plans. Today’s ruling keeps that effort alive, and the Little Sisters have vowed to appeal the decision.”

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (commonly referred to as ObamaCare) required employers to provide “preventive care” without “any cost sharing requirements,” but it failed to specify what it meant by “preventive care.” Guidelines stated that health care plans must provide coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives.

However, the Trump administration later allowed for exemptions to the mandated contraception coverage for employers if those employers held moral or religious objections.

But the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the federal government had not followed protocol when issuing exemptions to the contraception requirements in health care coverage, claiming the exemptions granted were “arbitrary [and] capricious” and did not follow the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act. The exemptions have now been “vacated in their entirety.”

Senior Attorney for Becket, Diana Thomson, told the Catholic News Agency that this is the same case that led to victory for the sisters at the Supreme Court in 2020.

“Instead of dropping the case, Pennsylvania and New Jersey revitalized their cutting-floor arguments that they chose not to pursue at the Supreme Court last time and brought them in the district court,” she said.

The district court agreed with those arguments “even though the Supreme Court already blessed the rules,” she added, stating that the district court is “trying to find a loophole” to the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision.

The Bottom Line:

Efforts to force Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for health care coverage for abortions and contraception have been ongoing for more than a decade.

Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the sisters, said, “It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue… We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters’ right to care for the elderly in peace.”

The Little Sisters’ appeal has been filed, and Thomson believes the Trump administration will file its own appeal since the lawsuit brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania includes multiple federal agencies and officials. She said they will take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Follow Live Action News on Facebook and Instagram for more pro-life news.

The Details:

In a tweet on August 13, legal advocacy group Becket said, “BREAKING: In a nationwide ruling against a Trump Administration religious conscience rule, a federal district Court today ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Court sided with Pennsylvania and New Jersey in their years-long effort to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraception and abortion coverage in their healthcare plans. Today’s ruling keeps that effort alive, and the Little Sisters have vowed to appeal the decision.”

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (commonly referred to as ObamaCare) required employers to provide “preventive care” without “any cost sharing requirements,” but it failed to specify what it meant by “preventive care.” Guidelines stated that health care plans must provide coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives.

However, the Trump administration later allowed for exemptions to the mandated contraception coverage for employers if those employers held moral or religious objections.

But the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the federal government had not followed protocol when issuing exemptions to the contraception requirements in health care coverage, claiming the exemptions granted were “arbitrary [and] capricious” and did not follow the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act. The exemptions have now been “vacated in their entirety.”

Senior Attorney for Becket, Diana Thomson, told the Catholic News Agency that this is the same case that led to victory for the sisters at the Supreme Court in 2020.

“Instead of dropping the case, Pennsylvania and New Jersey revitalized their cutting-floor arguments that they chose not to pursue at the Supreme Court last time and brought them in the district court,” she said.

The district court agreed with those arguments “even though the Supreme Court already blessed the rules,” she added, stating that the district court is “trying to find a loophole” to the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision.

The Bottom Line:

Efforts to force Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for health care coverage for abortions and contraception have been ongoing for more than a decade.

Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the sisters, said, “It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue… We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters’ right to care for the elderly in peace.”

The Little Sisters’ appeal has been filed, and Thomson believes the Trump administration will file its own appeal since the lawsuit brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania includes multiple federal agencies and officials. She said they will take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Follow Live Action News on Facebook and Instagram for more pro-life news.