The Supreme Court has exempt an Evangelical Christian college from part of the contraception coverage regulations under the Affordable Care Act while the case is on appeal.
The court released this statement saying,"If the applicant informs the Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing that it is a non-profit organization that ... has religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptive services, [HHS is] enjoined from enforcing against the applicant the challenged provisions." (Via U.S. Supreme Court)
The college specifically objects to providing the coverage of intrauterine devices and Plan B to its employees and it doesn't want its insurance company to be providing that either. (Via Wikimedia Commons / Bgtp)
TheAffordable Care Act provides an option for religious nonprofits to transfer contraceptive coverage to the insurance company if there are religious objections. But, the nonprofit has to sign a form transferring the responsibility to the insurer, something Wheaton College does not want to do.
CNN: "If they want to not provide access to this contraception they have to sign a waiver. But, they feel like they're then giving someone else permission or complicit in providing it." (Via CNN)
In at 6-3 ruling, all three female justices opposed the verdict, saying they still would have had the college fill out the form.
In the dissent, obtained by The New York Times, Justice Sotomayor stated, "I do not doubt that Wheaton genuinely believes that signing the self-certification form is contrary to its religious beliefs. But thinking one’s religious beliefs are substantially burdened — no matter how sincere or genuine that belief may be — does not make it so."
This is just one part of a larger legal battle on the Affordable Care Act. On Monday, the court also ruled that Hobby Lobby would not have to offer contraceptive coverage to its employees that included Plan B and intrauterine devices. (Via Wikimedia Commons / Michael Rivera)
So far 122 nonprofits have sued because of the Affordable Care Act's contraception regulations.
