A U.S. appeals court Thursday blocked rules by the Trump administration allowing more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control.
States were likely to succeed on their claim that the changes to President Barack Obama’s health care law were made without required notice and public comment, a divided, three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The panel upheld a preliminary injunction against the rules issued by a lower court judge last year. An email to the Justice Department seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Obama’s health care law required most companies to cover birth control at no additional cost, though it included exemptions for religious organizations. The new policy allowed more categories of employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing free contraception to women by claiming religious objections. It also allowed any company that is not publicly traded to deny coverage on moral grounds.
The Department of Justice said in court documents that the rules were about protecting a small group of “sincere religious and moral objectors” from having to violate their beliefs.
California filed a lawsuit to block the changes that was joined by Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia.
California argued that the change could result in millions of women in the state losing free birth control services, leading to unintended pregnancies that would tax the state’s health care and other social programs.
Full story at Washington Times.
The United States is NOT a theocracy. When one enters the public marketplace by opening a business, one may have to follow certain laws of the even if those laws are against individual moral beliefs. Otherwise, don’t open the business.
The U.S. isn’t a totalitarian society either. We’re supposed to be free. The problem with Obamacare is the government telling people, ordering people what they have to provide and what they have to buy. That’s totalitarianism. Government should not be telling people what types of insurance they have to provide or purchase.
Anon, if you don’t have to have a modicum of insurance, that is your choice. But then, should emergency rooms be required to serve you for no charge? Personally, I don’t want my insurance monthly premium based on the cost of free-loaders. Everyone needs good healthcare and needs to have insurance to pay for it, until we can come up with a better system.
Post menopausal women are required to buy insurance with pregnancy coverage. What sense does that make? That’s just one of the silly mandates that make insurance more expensive than it needs to be. Why have standard policies for everyone? Why not let it be like automobile insurance where people can choose the coverage and limits they want? That would be a better system.
Not only that, MEN have to purchase insurance with pregnancy and gynecological coverage. Don’t believe me? Look it up. Stupid. Men have to purchase coverage for something they would never use. The cost of insurance is inflated by making people pay for things they wouldn’t use and don’t need and might not want.
Would you support government and licensing agencies compelling doctors and nurses to participate in abortions and assisted suicide because they chose to enter the medical profession, if that’s what patients request?
Mike m, the contraceptive pill (aka the birth control pill — no birth no control) is a carcinogen, so what you are saying is that people should be forced to pay for carcinogens. I guess insurances should now have to pay for everyone’s cigarettes who want them.
It has been 28 years now since that older priest told me not to take the pills the doctor gave me, and I have survived minute cancer tumors three times because I never took any hormones (and the contraceptive pill is one), which would have made the tumors expand. Natural Family Planning for faithfully married couples is the only safe, green way.
Bless you, Anne TE! Birth control is an abortifacient. A baby-killer! And birth control contains unnatural chemicals that are harmful to women emotionally and physically, and can cause cancer and other serious medical issues. Also, these chemicals are very damaging to our environment!
Yes, it does often acts as an abortifacient. I am not sure it acts that way every time, but often enough to be considered an abortifacient.
No, what I am saying is an employer can not force their moral or medical views on an employee. Yes, perhaps for some, the pill is not medically advisable. That should be the EMPLOYEES choice.
Mike m, it works both ways. If employers cannot force their moral or medical views on employees, neither should employees force their moral or medical views on employers. If we do not like one employer, we can find another. I know I have done it many times during my life time. Where there is a will, there is a way. By the way, I DO live in a theocracy. I have no king but Christ the King.
The last statement of my post on December 14 at 9:21 pm means that every religious person lives by his/her own conscience — in other words in their own theocracy. Communists have a religion, too, and worship men like Stalin and Lenin, whether they admit it or not.
mike m, no employer in our country must be forced to give to their employees, something that violates their religious and moral beliefs! For example– many Muslims refuse to accept alcohol, even in medicines! Our country is not like a Communist one! We have lost our precious Christian beliefs and values, upon which America was established! Yes — you are responsible to God, in all that you do! People of many faiths believe birth control to be a sin, violating the sacredness of Marriage. And birth control is NOT a medical necessity.
Vasectomies might, I say might, contribute to certain types of cancer. I have known three men who have had brain cancer. One died about thirty years ago, and his wife told me that he had had one. Of the two others, one died fairly recently and one is still alive. I strongly suspect they had them too, but I do not know for sure.
As far as prostate cancer, I think it is similar to ovarian cancer where the more pardners one has the more likely one is to get it. That is not to say that every one who gets prostate or ovarian cancer has been promiscuous.
All that we are belongs to God–including our organs of reproduction. We must not mutilate them nor obstruct their God-given procreative function, in any way– unless one’s life is threatened, due to serious disease, such as cancer. I have known of several men, many long years ago– whose lives were threatened by aggressive cancers, and their prostates were removed– it didn’t give them much more time to live, however. Worst of all– these men, and their families, grieved and grieved, for the sad mutilation of their manhood– and for them to have to die that way.
To Anon: removal of the prostate does not mutilate one’s manhood. If the prostate has to be removed for a cancer diagnosis, a man is still able to participate in the conjugal union with his wife. Your information is quite dated and misleading to men who may currently be facing a serious diagnosis and decision.
northbelle– Reproductive organs are a part of one’s identity, from birth– no matter when or where you are born! Most patients obey the doctor, and are happy to save their life– but most feel badly, with reproductive organ mutilations or removals– or sterilization.
Marriage is holy (one of our holy Sacraments, in which Christ is present!) — and the bride and groom must lovingly accept the blessing of children, if God sends them! That is a part of all traditional Christian marriage ceremonies– as well as marriage rites in other religions, too! Man and Woman are to become one flesh, and procreate children, by the grace of God! No Christian denomination accepted the sin of obstruction of child-birth by birth control, until the modern era! Reducing the marriage act to “man’s entertainment” is both selfish and dehumanizing– and a sin! Marriage is not fornication!
Yes, even Natural Family Planning should only be used for serious medical and other reasons. Doctors need to be trained, once again, to save both the woman and the child. Instead of using abortion of the FINAL solution.
“Lord give us wisdom, the attendant at thy throne,” and fortitude also.
Bless you, Anne TE! I remember the days when mother and child were considered sacred by secular society! And motherhood, being a stay-at-home wife and mother— was considered as the most noble of professions, for a woman!
Obamacare was thoroughly evil.
Obamacare does not cover vasectomies. There once was a time when no self-respecting male would ever dare to”mutilate his manhood,” by doing something as awful as obtaining a vasectomy! Not just Catholic men, in fear of Hell, for religious violations– but any red-blooded male at all! Interesting though– that Obamacare does not cover vasectomies– so there will be no court cases about that!
That is strange. Why cover it for the woman and not the man when it can be just as harmful to both?
Bodily mutilation is forbidden by the Bible, as well as other religions. Yes, it makes the patient feel sad, to have any organ mutilated or removed– and especially, reproductive organs!
But to save a life, is very necessaey!