9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Against Freedom of Conscience

Credit: Becket Law Press Release

Little Sisters of the Poor, an organization made up of nuns who assist the impoverished near the end of their lives with nowhere else to go, lost in a battle against the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for their freedom of conscience in the face of the Affordable Care Act.

In its ruling, the 9th circuit stated, “the statute delegates to HRSA [Health Resources and Services Administration, a component of Health and Human Services] the discretion to determine which types of preventative care are covered, but the statute does not delegate to HRSA or any other agency the discretion to exempt who must meet the obligation.”

The Supreme Court overturned the original lower court ruling against the Little Sisters of the Poor in 2016, and President Trump issued an executive order which provided religious entities with exemptions to covering contraception. Pennsylvania and California responded to the latter by suing the federal government, however.

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