The Little Sisters of the Poor have filed a petition requesting that the Supreme Court affirm the religious exemption protecting them from having to comply with the HHS Contraceptive Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
The renewed petition comes after several states, including Pennsylvania and California, sued the Little Sisters of the Poor in response to an exemption granted to them in 2017 after their last appearance before the Supreme Court.
“The states are arguing that even though there’s injunctions in the mandate in the Little Sisters’ case in this country, it violated the law for the federal government to issue a religious exemption,” Diana Verm, senior counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told CNA. Becket is providing legal counsel for the Little Sisters of the Poor.
“The Little Sisters just want to go back to serving the elderly poor,” said Verm. “If the Supreme Court rules in their favor, they’ll be able to do so.”
The Little Sisters of the Poor are a Catholic religious order dedicated to the care of the elderly poor in addition to their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
When the HHS Contraceptive Mandate was announced in 2011, the Sisters were told that they would not be grandfathered in and would have to provide contraception to there employees through their insurance plan, in violation of their religious faith. Despite being a religious order, the Little Sisters of the Poor did not qualify as a religious employer as they serve and employ people of all faiths.
In 2013, the order first filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming that the mandate was a violation of their religious freedom. They were granted an emergency injunction at the end of that year that prevented them from having to pay thousands of dollars in fines for not complying with the mandate.
Three years later, the Supreme Court sided with the Little Sisters, and ordered the government to come up with a solution that would appease all sides. In 2017, this solution came in the form of a new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that exempted religious non-profits from the mandate.
Verm noted that throughout the six-year legal process, not a single person has been presented as being unable to obtain contraception due to working for a religious employer under the exemption. In its own suit against the Sisters, Pennsylvania has admitted that there are many other ways for a woman to get contraception aside from their employer.
Presently, an injunction granted by a Colorado court protects the religious order from the mandate, and preserves the exemption for religious-based nonprofits.
If the Little Sisters of the Poor do not win this court case, Verm said, they would have to pay thousands of dollars in fines to the government.
“That would be crippling,” she said.
The above comes from an Oct. 9 story on the website of the Catholic News Agency.
Our “Catholic” governor insists that nuns pay for and have artificial contraceptives! Pray for our governor and that his bishop will address this, for the sake of our governor’s soul, as well as the scandal it cause for those in the Church and in a watching world!
You cannot do Christ’s work, merely by seeking to win court cases, or elect certain candidates to political offices! I well-remenber the days long before Vatican II and the filthy, lawless 1960s– when nearly 80% of Americans attended their church or synagogue weekly– and our land was governed by Judeo-Christian, Biblical values! People were afraid of sin– and the local religious leaders, including the Catholic Bishop — were respected, admired and obeyed! They had tremendous weight and influence in the community! Here comes the Cardinal of New York, or Chicago, or Boston, let’s say—you bet, the City officials will respect and listen to what he has to say! And today– the churches (especially ours!) foolishly lay aside their God-given religious leadership, and do nothing to combat sin– because they now foolishly believe strongly, in mankind’s “freedoms” and “human rights,” to do as they please– even if people commit horrific sins! Such a foolish, permissive philosophy, is hopelessly futile– and destroys the work of Christ!
I do not read the article the same way. The article is about whether the Nuns have to provide contraceptives coverage via their employee insurance.
I recall reading [but can not remember the source] that the vast majority of practicing Catholic women have used contraceptives.
This is from the website of the Sisters themselves: “Over the past three years the Supreme Court has twice protected the Catholic nuns, but the states have dragged them back to court. In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro threatened the Little Sisters’ ministry by challenging their religious exemption, forcing the Little Sisters to continue to defend themselves in court. After a loss in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the order of Catholic nuns is asking the Supreme Court to end their six year-long legal battle and let them keep their focus on serving the elderly poor. In May 2016, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned lower court rulings against the Little Sisters and granted them an exemption from the HHS contraceptive mandate, which required the nuns to provide services such as the week-after pill in their health care plans or pay millions of dollars in fines. In 2018, HHS announced a new rule protecting religious non-profits, including the Little Sisters, but several states, including Pennsylvania and California, immediately sued the federal government to take that protection away, forcing the Little Sisters back to court.” As you can see, they are required to cover such in their healthcare plans, which includes the Sisters.
Also, no one is forced to work for any Catholic organization. The Sisters should not have to pay for abortifacients or artificial contraceptives for lay persons who choose to work for them. And, I don’t think they have a lot of lay employees. Also, what’s the point of “the vast majority of practicing Catholic women have used contraceptives?” What is a “practicing” Catholic? And, “have used” is past tense. That may be true, let’s hope they’ve discontinued such. (The majority of practicing Catholics have also probably lied or overindulged at times. That doesn’t make those things virtuous or mean that they should be subsidized by the Church.) The government should leave the Sisters alone to continue serving the poor and elderly.
mike m.—-The so-called “Catholic” women (and their husbands) who use contraceptives are committing Mortal Sin! They need proper instruction at their parish chuch– if they are still practicing the Faith!
If the Democrats won’t listen to God, they certainly will not listen to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court should smack them upside the head.
Mormons do not believe in drinking coffee or tea. If you want to dine at a Mormon restaurant in Salt Lake City– you probably will have to find something else to drink– maybe fruit juice! And Jewish and Muslim restaurants do not serve pork! Religious freedom is very important!
The whole point of the Sister ‘spoint of view is that they believe in the Lord Jesus. Suppose Jesus’ Mother and Father used contraceptives. Then you would have no Jesus. You would have no light of the world. The sin is that you entertain this idea and it infringes on their religion. I am a lay person. It took me years to understand this. You shouldn’t make martyrs of them for their faith.