Catholic group, Little Sisters of the Poor, based in Denver have lost their appeal to avoid complying with Obamacare’s contraception mandate, Denver Post reports.
The ruling, which was announced Tuesday in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, dictates that employees should be enabled contraception coverage.
Subsequently, Little Sisters of the Poor decided to sue Obamacare in order to avoid the compulsory participation, but failed as the court declared that the religious burden was not intense enough to warrant a lack of participation.
The Obamacare Mandate, referred to as the Affordable Care Act necessitates that employers enable insurance coverage comprised of preventative care methods, including contraception.
The government has incorporated a loophole into the Act that enables certain religious groups to remain exempt from the contraceptive aspect of the Act due to objections on religious grounds. In cases where a religious group is exempt, a third party is able to step in to ensure that employees are enabled access to contraception, covered by insurance, without cost to the employer.
Washington Times reports that the Little Sisters of the Poor consider the contraceptive pill sinful, equating contraceptives with abortion. The act was initially hailed as beneficial for American women but many groups have come out in stark opposition to the act, including faith groups and religious business owners.
Mark Rienzi, attorney for the Sisters, called the case a “national embarrassment” for crushing “the Little Sister’s faith.”
It is a national embarrassment that the world’s most powerful government insists that, instead of providing contraceptives through its own existing exchanges and programs, it must crush the Little Sisters’ faith and force them to participate.
The Little Sisters defense declared that forcing faith groups to comply with the Act places a considerable burden upon their faith. The Tuesday ruling disagrees. The Sisters are legally obliged to provide contraceptives and actively apply for an exemption or pay the corresponding IRS penalties.
In other news, a recently published study has found that the vast majority of women who undergo abortions do not have regrets.
Do you think the contraceptive pill should be made compulsory for faith groups?
