The war on Christianity continues as yesterday a federal
appeals court in Denver ruled against a
group of Colorado nuns who challenged a
provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide
insurance policies covering contraception.
Though religious groups are already exempt from covering
contraceptives, the plaintiffs – the Little Sisters of the Poor as well as four
Christian colleges in Oklahoma – argued the exemption doesn’t go far enough
because they must sign away the coverage to another party, making them feel as
though they had a hand in providing contraceptives.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.
The court ruled that because the Little Sisters of the Poor
had the option of signing a form that would transfer covering contraceptives to
a third-party, they failed to show that the ObamaCare mandate placed a burden
on their right to exercise freedom of religion.
Following the ruling, Sister Loraine Marie Maguire said “we
simply cannot choose between our care for the elderly poor and our faith.”
Maguire added that forcing the Little Sister of the Poor to
make that choice “violates our nation’s commitment to ensuring that people from
diverse faiths can freely follow God’s calling in their lives.”
About The Little Sisters Of The Poor
Thousands of elderly poor have a home today because of one
remarkable woman.
Saint Jeanne Jugan grew up in a small town in the aftermath
of the French revolution. Times were hard. The winters were brutal. To support
her family, Jeanne worked from a young age as a shepherdess, kitchen maid, and
tending the sick at a Civil and Naval Hospital. In this last position, she
discovered her life’s vocation: helping others.
Confident in her Catholic faith, Jeanne set out to serve
those most in need. She cared for the poor and the elderly as if they were her
own family, even giving them her bed while she slept in the attic. Her humility
and love of service spread among other young women, and the religious community
of the Little Sisters of the Poor was born.
A Vocation to Serve the Poor
Today, the Little Sisters of the Poor–an international Roman
Catholic Congregation of Religious Sisters–have continued Jeanne’s mission to
serve others. The Little Sisters of the Poor arrived in America in 1868.
Currently, there are thirty homes in the United States where the elderly and
dying are treated as if they were Jesus himself and cared for with love and
dignity until God calls them home. The Little Sisters serve more than 13,000
elderly poor people in thirty-one countries around the world.
The Little Sisters adhere to the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church. In accordance with their faith, they uphold the unique,
inviolable dignity of all human life, especially those deemed weak or, to some,
“worthless” in society. The federal government’s contraception and abortion
mandate, however, forces the Little Sisters to provide services that destroy
human life, contradicting their very mission to respect it.
Although the government does allow exemptions for church and
church-type entities from the HHS Mandate for religious reasons, this
accommodation does nothing for the Little Sisters. Because the government
refuses to classify them as a “religious employer,” the Little Sisters are
required to hire a third party to provide these objectionable services to their
employees, and thus are still forced to participate in the government’s scheme.
Believing that every human person has God-given worth, the Little Sisters
cannot provide contraceptive, abortion, and sterilization services that go
against their religious beliefs.
The Becket Fund Defends the Little Sisters
The Becket Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Little
Sisters of the Poor, seeking to uphold their right to carry out their vows of
obedience in their service to the poor. The suit is a class action lawsuit, and
the lead plaintiffs are the Little Sisters homes in Denver and Baltimore. The
suit seeks protection not only for the Little Sisters, but for other Catholic
organizations that provide health benefits consistent with their religious
faith through the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust and Christian
Brothers Services. This is the7th lawsuit challenging
the administration’s HHS Mandate filed by the Becket Fund, which also
represents: Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University, East Texas
Baptist University, Houston Baptist University, Ave Maria University, Wheaton
College, Reaching Souls International, and Hobby Lobby in similar lawsuits.
After the trial court and Tenth Circuit denied a preliminary
injunction, on New Year’s Eve Justice Sonia Sotomayor granted the
Little Sisters a temporary injunction protecting them from enforcement of the
mandate, which was scheduled to take effect against them at midnight. On January
24, 2014, the entire Supreme Court granted the Little Sisters an injunction
pending appeal, protecting them from enforcement while they litigate their
appeal at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. That briefing has now been completed. Oral argument
took place on December 8, 2014.
On July 14, 2015, in a departure from the U.S. Supreme
Court’s protection of the Little Sisters of the Poor last year, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the Little Sisters must
comply with the government’s HHS mandate.
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