2nd Circuit rules against nonprofits challenging opt-out process for contraceptive coverage
The opt-out process for religious nonprofits that don’t want to provide contraceptive insurance coverage for their workers does not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Friday, report the New York Times and the New York Law Journal (sub. req.). The case is Catholic Health Care System v. Burwell.
The plaintiffs are four Roman Catholic nonprofits. They had alleged the opt-out process makes them complicit in the delivery of contraceptive services that violate church teachings holding that life begins at conception.
The appeals court disagreed. The plaintiffs are required only to identify themselves as religious objectors through a “modicum of paperwork, and the process does not impose a substantial burden on the plaintiffs’ religious exercise, the appeals court held.
Six other federal appeals courts have issued similar rulings, either on the merits or by denying preliminary injunctions.
Religious employers that want to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage have two options: Fill out a one-page form, or write a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services. The process leads to contraceptive coverage through third parties.
The letter option is allowed as a result of an injunction issued by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer in two cases filed by religious employers that objected to filling out the form.
