Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has temporarily blocked the enforcement of a Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provision commonly called the "contraception mandate," according to a report from The New York Times.
Ms. Sotomayor issued the order at the request of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns that runs nursing homes for low-income people around the world, according to the report. The block on the contraception mandate applies to the nuns and other Roman Catholic nonprofit groups that use the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust health plan. The Obama administration has until tomorrow to respond.
Ms. Sotomayor issued the order after the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in
Under the PPACA, all group health plans and health insurance issuers must provide, without cost-sharing, reproductive preventive care including all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and services, as well as patient education and counseling. The provision — which was due to take effect yesterday — has faced numerous court challenges from organizations that claim it violates their religious freedom.
The Obama administration has exempted churches from the requirement and has also said women employed by nonprofit religious groups that oppose birth control can receive separate insurance coverage that employers don't pay for, according to the report. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — which represented the Little Sisters in their lawsuit — has said this accommodation for nonprofit groups like the order of nuns would still violate their religious freedom by requiring the organization to find an insurer that will cover sterilization as well as contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.
This is just the beginning of contraceptive mandate debate for the Supreme Court. Last month, the court agreed to hear two cases concerning whether corporations can refuse to provide contraception coverage. The first is Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius, in which the owners of a 500-store retail chain argue that some of the contraceptive services they would have to cover for their employees prevent not just fertilization but implantation, which they equate with abortion. The second was filed by Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, which manufactures wood cabinets and has raised similar objections to the mandate, according to the report.
More Articles on the Contraception Mandate:
New York Judge: Catholic Organizations Exempt From PPACA Contraception Coverage Rule
Supreme Court Likely to Rule on PPACA Contraception Mandate
D.C. Circuit Court Backs Faith-Based Challenge to PPACA Contraception Mandate, Widening Split Among Courts