Colorado nuns appeal birth control ruling to Supreme Court


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

DENVER (AP) — A group of Colorado nuns said Thursday they will go to the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal a ruling that allows their employees to receive birth control from a third party under the Affordable Care Act, fueling a combustible argument over contraception and religion ahead of next year's presidential election.

Attorneys for Little Sisters of the Poor and four Oklahoma Christian colleges said last week's ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver violates their religious freedom, in an argument that goes beyond last year's Hobby Lobby case.

A three-judge panel on the federal appellate court found that President Barack Obama's health care law accommodates religious nonprofits by allowing them to seek exemption from a requirement to provide contraception to employees. The religious institutions, however, argue that the exemption is inadequate because a third party will still end up providing birth control coverage in opposition to their religious beliefs.

Last year, the Supreme Court found "closely held" businesses with religious objections, such as, Hobby Lobby were also exempt from the law's contraception mandate. Those businesses now have access to the exemption that the nuns contend is inadequate.

Five other federal appeals courts — based in Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington, DC — also have ruled against religious nonprofits challenging the exemption.

Nonprofit groups in Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington already have appealed to the Supreme Court, which won't decide whether to hear any of the cases before the fall.

If the justices take up the case it would be heard and decided before the end of June 2016.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Features stories

NICHOLAS RICCARDI

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast