Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- A federal district court in Philadelphia Aug. 13 struck down a religious conscience rule implemented by the first Trump administration exempting employers with religious or moral concerns from having to provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives and other drugs or procedures to which they have an objection.

The Little Sisters of the Poor, defendants in the suit, are expected to appeal.

In a nationwide ruling, U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia found the rule, which expanded the parameters for the types of nonprofits that could use the exception, were not necessary to protect the conscience rights of religious employers.

The nuns will appeal the ruling "in the coming weeks," said Becket, the religious liberty law firm representing the Little Sisters of the Poor in their ongoing legal efforts over their objections to paying for abortifacient drugs, sterilizations and contraceptives in their employee health plans.

"The district court blessed an out-of-control effort by Pennsylvania and New Jersey to attack the Little Sisters and religious liberty," Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the Little Sisters, argued in a statement. "It's bad enough that the district court issued a nationwide ruling invalidating federal religious conscience rules. But even worse is that the district court simply ducked the glaring constitutional issues in this case, after waiting five years and not even holding a hearing.

"It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court," he continued, "to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue. We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters' right to care for the elderly in peace."

In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a federal mandate requiring most employers to provide contraceptive drugs in their health insurance plans. The mandate included a narrow religious exemption for entities such as churches, but did not include religious nonprofits.

After requesting and being denied an exemption due to the Catholic Church's teaching against drugs like the morning-after pill, the Little Sisters filed a lawsuit. Their effort ultimately became part of the consolidated case Zubik v. Burwell, a 2016 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent the case back to lower courts, but effectively was in the Little Sisters' favor.

The federal government later finalized new exceptions that would include entities like the Little Sisters. However, Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged those rules, arguing they were improperly expanded. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow procedural ruling siding with the Little Sisters, but their suit has continued.

"As Little Sisters of the Poor, we dedicate our lives to caring for the elderly poor until God calls them home," Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor said in a statement. "We will continue to fight for the right to carry out our mission without violating our faith, and we pray Pennsylvania and New Jersey will end this needless harassment."