Reproductive Rights

The US supreme court late Thursday ruled in favor of a Christian college that believes the contraception mandate of US healthcare law burdens the school, inciting forceful dissent from the three female justices in the nation’s highest court. In an unsigned, provisional order, the court granted a Christian college a temporary exemption from having to provide full contraception coverage to its employees and students as is mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This decision comes days after the court’s 5-4 decision in Burwell v Hobby Lobby, which provided small, for-profit corporations with a similar exemption. The court’s three females justices – Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan – said Thursday’s ruling introduced unnecessary layers of bureaucracy, altered the interpretation of the Hobby Lobby ruling and “undermines confidence in this institution.” “Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word,” Sotomayor wrote. “Not so today.” Last year, the Obama administration finalized its rules that grant churches an exemption to the mandate under the ACA. These provisions also allows religious nonprofits to request exemption by filing a form to its insurance issuer or third-party administrator.