tvc.dsj.org | January 22, 2019
IN THE CHURCH
9
Judges Block Expansion of Religious Exemptions to HHS Mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two federal
judges temporarily blocked the govern-
ment from utting into eff ect new rules
that would expand the exemption to
the federal contraceptive mandate to
the Little Sisters of the Poor and other
religious employers.
The decisions came in cases fi led in
federal courts in Pennsylvania and Cali-
fornia that challenged the expansion,
arguing that allowing some employers
to not off er contrace tive coverage in
health insurance plans violated provi-
sions of the ff orda le are ct.
Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania based in Philadelphia
issued a nationwide preliminary injunc-
tion the afternoon of Jan. 14, the day the
olicy was to ta e eff ect.
Beetlestone’s 65-page ruling came
less than 24 hours after Judge Haywood
S. Gilliam Jr. of the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California
granted a preliminary injunction sought
by 13 states and the District of Columbia
to sto the rules from ta ing eff ect.
The decisions do not permanently
block the new policy, but prevent the
rules from ta ing eff ect while the legal
challenges are debated in the courts.
The U.S. Catholic bishops said Jan.
15 that “freezing these common-sense
regulations leaves those with con-
scientious or religious objections” to
the contraceptive mandate “out in the
cold. In a free country, no one should
be forced to facilitate or fund things
like contraception, sterilization, and
abortion-inducing drugs and devices,
which go against their core religious
beliefs,” they said.
ec et, a religious li erty law fi rm
representing the Little Sisters of the
Poor, issued a media release immedi-
ately after Beetlestone’s ruling saying
the religious order would continue to
defend its religious rights by opposing
the lawsuits seeking to block the rules.
e never wanted this fi ght and we
regret that after a long legal battle it is
still not over,” Mother Loraine Marie
Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor
said in the release. “We pray that we
can once again devote our lives to or
ministry of serving the elderly poor
as we have for over 175 years without
being forced to violate our faith.”
Mark Rienzi, Becket president, ex-
ressed confi dence that oth rulings
would be overturned on appeal.
“Government bureaucrats should
not be allowed to threaten the rights
of the Little Sisters of the Poor to serve
according to their Catholic beliefs,” he
said in the media release. “Now the
nuns are forced to ee fi ghting this
unnecessary lawsuit to protect their
ability to focus on caring for the poor.”
eetlestone ruled that the eff ort to
expand the exemption while leaving
in place other provisions for preventive
care “is inconsistent with the ... text”
of the ACA.
illiam off ered a similar ex lanation
in his 45-page decision, determining
that the new rules were “not in accor-
dance with the ff orda le are ct.
The religious order and the March for
Life Education and Defense Fund were
permitted to join the case as “permissive
intervenors.”
The sisters have been in the spotlight
for several years because of their moral
objection to the Department of Health
and Human Services’ requirement that
most employers, including religious
employers, cover contraceptives, steril-
ization and abortion-inducing drugs in
their employee health plans. The man-
date was put in place by HHS under the
ACA during the Obama administration.
The Trump administration subse-
quently introduced rules in October
2017 to expand the exemption to reli-
gious em loyers and resented fi nal
The White House is seen during a snow-
storm in the early hours of Jan. 14. (CNS
photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters)
rules in November.
The Little Sisters of the Poor, through
their attorneys, said their rights under
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
would be violated if they were forced
to comply with the mandate as the law
requires.
“We pray that this decision will be
appealed and that future courts will
respect the free exercise arguments of
the Little Sisters of the Poor and so many
others who simply seek the freedom to
serve their neighbors without the threat
of massive government fi nes hanging
over their heads,” said the U.S. Catholic
bishops’ statement.
It was issued Cardinal Daniel N. Di-
Nardo of Galveston-Houston, president
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bish-
ops; Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of
the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life
Activities; and Archbishop Joseph E.
Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, chairman
of the USCCB Committee for Religious
Liberty.
Lori Windham, an attorney with
Becket, told Catholic News Service Jan.
14 that the rules put forward by the
administration were “sensible to protect
religious freedom.”
Rienzi argued in favor of the rule Jan.
10 during a hearing in Philadelphia and
ew cross country for a hearing an.
in federal court in Oakland, California.
Windham joined Rienzi in Pennsyl-
vania to argue in support of the regu-
lation. She said the pair told the court
they believed the states have no right
to challenge the regulation.
They haven’t identifi ed any woman
who would be harmed by these rules,”
Windham said. “The mandate lawsuits
have been going on for a long time. The
religious objects have gotten protection
from the courts. So it’s pretty silly for
states to show up now years later to all
of a sudden say these people are going
to be harmed.”
The decisions of both federal judges
are se arate from a similar case fi led to
oppose the October 2017 rules. The 9th
Circuit heard oral arguments in that
case in October.
California Attorney General Xavier
Becerra and Pennsylvania Attorney
eneral osh ha iro fi led their cases
days after the rules were introduced
in 20 and again soon after the fi nal
rules were introduced in November.
They have argued that women would
lose employer-sponsored contraceptive
coverage, leading to “economic harm”
to states as women turn to state-based
programs or programs that are reim-
bursed by the state.
Becerra also argued that the HHS
ruling providing the religious exemp-
tion violates constitutional amend-
ments because it allows employers to
use religious beliefs to discriminate
against employees and denies women
their rights to equal protection under
the law.
California, Delaware, Maryland,
New York and Virginia joined in the
fi rst suit. They were oined y onnecti-
cut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, North
Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont,
Washington, Virginia and the District
of Columbia in the most recent suit that
led to Gilliam’s decision.
The Little Sisters of the Poor, through
their attorneys, said their rights under
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
would be violated if they were forced
to comply with the mandate.
Becket lawyers have argued all along
that the government has many ways to
provide services to women who need
them as well as protect the Little Sisters:
“Neither the federal government nor the
state governments need nuns to help
them give out contraceptives.”