Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania (Religious exemptions upheld)

Safiel · 2020-07-08T14:30:46.632Z

19-431_5i36.pdf

394.04 KB

Link to Opinion of the Court in LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR SAINTS PETER AND PAUL HOME v. PENNSYLVANIA.

Opinion by Justice Thomas for a 5 Justice majority. Justices Kagan and Breyer concurred in the judgement. Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg dissented.

The government may promulgate religious and moral exemptions to the contraceptive mandate.

Again, as much as I think objections to contraceptives are silly, I believe this case was correctly decided under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

conan · 2020-07-08T15:26:09.785Z

Correct ruling…regardless what some may think about contraception.

dderatz · 2020-07-08T17:25:44.911Z

I reluctantly agree that it was correctly decided under the ACA itself. Although the opinion touches on the RFRA (in what is likely dicta), I don’t see it as the basis of the decision. The bulk of the opinion is that Congress gave the discretion to determine what benefits fell under the minimum requirement, so the decision to exempt was authorized by the statute. As noted in the concurrence and the dissent, the case is far from over, as there is a remaining challenge under the APA that still needs to be decided in the lower court.

The takeaway is that Congress can remove or limit the discretion in response to this decision, and likely will try to do so, particularly if the current regime is given its walking papers in November. The reg could also be struck down on remand based on the rationality argument.

Impenitent · 2020-07-08T17:36:52.170Z

good day for religious freedom

Call_me_Ishmael · 2020-07-08T17:40:21.090Z

Safiel:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-431_5i36.pdf

Link to Opinion of the Court in LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR SAINTS PETER AND PAUL HOME v. PENNSYLVANIA.

Opinion by Justice Thomas for a 5 Justice majority. Justices Kagan and Breyer concurred in the judgement. Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg dissented.

The government may promulgate religious and moral exemptions to the contraceptive mandate.

Again, as much as I think objections to contraceptives are silly, I believe this case was correctly decided under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Ginsburg would prefer they grow large enough for organ harvesting though. I’m surprised she was not with the majority.

Janet_Miller · 2020-07-08T17:44:45.308Z

I’m happy for the Little Sisters of the Poor. They aren’t required to pay for products that go against the teachings of the world’s oldest & largest Christian faith.

TriggerWarning · 2020-07-08T18:18:07.163Z

The hypocrisy of the majority of the anti abortion side exposed yet again. Want to reduce abortions then the easiest and most effective way it prevent the pregnancy in the first place. Yet the anti abortion side would rather have more aborted babies than support easily available and cheap contraception.

Janet_Miller · 2020-07-08T18:19:59.250Z

Explain the logic, please, of not being able to afford contraception, but having hundreds of dollars available for an abortion.

If it’s so important to have birth control covered, those wanting it should find a secular employer.

komobu · 2020-07-08T20:08:01.902Z

TriggerWarning:

The hypocrisy of the majority of the anti abortion side exposed yet again. Want to reduce abortions then the easiest and most effective way it prevent the pregnancy in the first place. Yet the anti abortion side would rather have more aborted babies than support easily available and cheap contraception.

The hypocrisy is yours expecting the nuns to pay for it. They are a prolife group. People are not forced to work for them. Pay for your own birth control. It really is that easy. If one cant afford their own birth control, I guess they better do without some other things so they can afford it.

FreeAndClear · 2020-07-08T20:29:46.573Z

Janet_Miller:

Explain the logic, please, of not being able to afford contraception, but having hundreds of dollars available for an abortion.

If it’s so important to have birth control covered, those wanting it should find a secular employer.

You don’t need hundreds of dollars for many abortions since many are at home through the use of a pill.

Guvnah · 2020-07-08T21:17:27.756Z

TriggerWarning:

The hypocrisy of the majority of the anti abortion side exposed yet again. Want to reduce abortions then the easiest and most effective way it prevent the pregnancy in the first place.

It takes religious principle to understand why certain contraception methods are immoral. (Remember, the opposition was to abortifacients, not contraceptions in general.)

Nobody is asking you to adopt those principles. The Little Sisters are just asking that they be allowed to adhere to their religious principles.

Janet_Miller · 2020-07-08T21:45:51.077Z

I don’t doubt many on the left, if a local guy took a job with an Indian Halal grocer & got disciplined or fired for eating a ham sandwich in their break room, would immediately side with the grocer/employer.

But an order of Christian monastics wanting to observe their own faith by not covering artificial birth control/morning after pills instead of just giving it lip service? . The horrors!

Freedom of religion for atheists, secularists and Muslims, but nothing at all for Christians. I’m sure they would love China, where their favorite word, lockdown, is routine & persons of faith and traditional Chinese culture, like Shen Yun and Falun Gong, are everything from forbidden to perform there (SY) to disappearing (FG).

Tired of their ■■■■■

Smyrna · 2020-07-09T12:40:19.438Z

Our forefathers would be proud today of this decision and libs should be ashamed that it ever had to go this far.

Optrader · 2020-07-15T09:52:46.664Z

Smyrna:

Our forefathers would be proud today of this decision and libs should be ashamed that it ever had to go this far.

Libs have no shame.

matt1618 · 2020-07-15T11:02:26.584Z

Unfortunately this decision did not really uphold the Little Sisters of the Poor overall, it just granted the exemption that Trump had allowed for them from the overall rule. Biden can reverse this .
Joe Biden plans to end contraception exemption for Little Sisters of the Poor | Catholic News Agency

Former vice president Joe Biden pledged on Wednesday to reinstate Obama-era policies that would require the Little Sisters of the Poor to ensure access to birth control and abortifacients for employees in violation of their religious beliefs.

Biden, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, made the promise July 8, following the Supreme Court decision in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the case Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania , which upheld an exemption for the sisters from the “contraception mandate” which obliges employers to provide for contraceptive coverage for employees through their health care plans.

“If I am elected I will restore the Obama-Biden policy that existed before the [Supreme Court’s 2014] Hobby Lobby ruling: providing an exemption for houses of worship and an accommodation for nonprofit organizations with religious missions,” said Biden in a statement released by his campaign.

“This accommodation will allow women at these organizations to access contraceptive coverage, not through their employer-provided plan, but instead through their insurance company or a third-party administrator.”

On Wednesday, Biden, who has campaigned on the importance of his Catholic faith, said he did not agree with either the court’s decision or the exemption for the sisters, adding that there is “a clear path to fixing it: electing a new President who will end Donald Trump’s ceaseless attempts to gut every aspect of the Affordable Care Act.”

“I am disappointed in today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that will make it easier for the Trump-Pence Administration to continue to strip health care from women–attempting to carve out broad exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s commitment to giving all women free access to recommended contraception,” said Biden.

I originally thought this ended the whole thing, but apparently Biden can reverse this and it can go back to court again if this guy wins. He can go back to his idea of bankrupting the Little Sisters of the Poor, fines instituted would be $70 freakin million.

Fox News

Little Sisters of the Poor on SCOTUS victory on birth control exemption: 'We...

Following a Wednesday Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Trump administration and Catholic Charity Little Sisters of the Poor, Little Sisters of the Poor Director of Communications Sister Constance Veit said Thursday that...

“Well, we calculated it out that the fines would have been about $70 million a year across all of our U.S. Homes. We have 25 homes here in the states. So, that would have essentially had to end our mission. Because, I mean, who could afford $70 million in fines a year?” she asked.

Biden trying to force a religious organization to go against their faith. It is sickening. You think birth control is fine, that is your perogative, however, you shouldn’t be able to force your views on people who think birth control is a sin. Even if you think birth control is fine, one should not bankrupt people and force them pay for something that they don’t think is fine. This most likely isn’t from anybody who actually worked for the Little Sisters of the Poor who complained, it is just from people who can’t stand people who don’t want to live lives that they want them to.

Toll_Collector · 2020-07-15T11:13:46.069Z

Safiel:

Again, as much as I think objections to contraceptives are silly, I believe this case was correctly decided under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

I agree entirely. But it’s equally silly to force someone to provide it.

Smyrna · 2020-07-15T11:15:11.288Z

matt1618:

Biden can reverse this .

…from his basement…amirite?