Obamacare: Supreme Court Throws Out Contraception Mandate, Sides With Religious Groups, Sends Case Back To Lower Court

The US Supreme Court sided with religious conservatives Monday in the debate over the contraception mandate under Obamacare when it ordered a lower court to reexamine its ruling.

An earlier decision by the 7th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled against the University of Notre Dame when it objected to the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

Now, the Supreme Court has thrown out that decision and asked the lower court to reconsider the case in light of new facts.

The justices recently ruled that closely held corporations were exempt from the contraception mandate if it violated their religious beliefs, according to the Washington Times.

Mark Rienzi, senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has led a nationwide charge against the contraception mandate, told the Washington Times the decision was an important milestone.

“This is a major blow to the federal government’s contraception mandate. For the past year, the Notre Dame decision has been the centerpiece of the government’s effort to force religious ministries to violate their beliefs or pay fines to the IRS.”

In the summer of 2014, after the Notre Dame case was decided, the court ruled in favor of the company Hobby Lobby, saying the company didn’t have to provide medical coverage that paid for the contraception mandate if it went against their religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court has now asked the lower court to reexamine its ruling of the contraception mandate in light of their recent decision.

The 2010 Obamacare contraception mandate requires the coverage of preventative care for women, including contraceptives and sterilization, according to the Huffington Post, but that doesn’t sit well with conservatives who say the bill violates their religious rights.

In the Hobby Lobby case, and again days later in the Wheaton College case, the Supreme Court ruled in support of religious groups, saying they could decide not to pay for the contraception mandate under grounds of religious freedom.

Religious rights are protected under a law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Obama administration had previously tried to accommodate religious groups with a compromise saying organizations need only notify the government of their objections to the contraception mandate to be exempt.

That wasn’t good enough for Notre Dame officials, however, who said the idea still rankled their religious beliefs.

As the Inquisitr reported when it covered the Hobby Lobby decision in 2014, the judges’ decision doesn’t prohibit employees from using birth control. It just means the company doesn’t have to pay for it through their insurance policies.

Liberal thinkers, however, disagree with the court’s decision to nullify the contraception mandate, saying it violates a woman’s right to proper healthcare.

Louise Melling, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, told RH Reality Check she was disappointed in the decision.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental American value, and it should be protected. But, it’s absurd to assert that simply filling out a form stating an objection violates religious freedom. What Notre Dame and others really object to is women getting the contraceptive coverage they need. That’s discrimination, plain and simple.”