Supreme Court Says Employers May Deny Birth Control Coverage Over Religious Objections
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the rules issued by the Trump administration that allows employers with religious or moral objections to denying women access to free birth control coverage.
The court’s 7-2 vote struck a blow against the birth control mandate, a hotly contested regulation under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to cover contraceptives without copay
Under the ruling, between 70,500 and 126,400 women could lose access to free birth control, according to government estimates.
At issue in Trump v. Pennsylvania, consolidated in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, are new rules established by the Trump administration that greatly expand the types of organizations that can opt out of the mandate based on religious beliefs or moral objections.
The states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the rules, arguing that they were required to cover the cost of birth control for people who lost coverage.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the opinion, said the Trump administration “has the authority to grant exemptions from regulatory contraceptive requirements for employers with religious and conscientious objections.” He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer filed separate opinions concurring in the verdict.
Oral arguments were presented in May via teleconference – one of the first times in history for the court – due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the third time the birth control mandate has reached the Supreme Court, but the first since Gorsuch and Kavanaugh ― appointed by President Donald Trump ― joined the bench.
Wednesday’s ruling sent the case back to a lower court. Further attempts to block Trump’s policies may soon follow.
In a statement, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who challenged Trump’s policies, said he was disappointed by the decision but not giving up. “We now go back to the lower courts to address whether the exceptions are arbitrary and capricious,” he said. “This fight is not over yet.”
In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a stark warning about the decision’s potential impact on employees.
“[T]His Court left it to female workers to fend for themselves, to seek contraceptive coverage from sources other than their employer’s insurer, and, with no other funding source available, to pay for contraceptive services from in their own pockets,” she wrote, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Faced with high out-of-pocket costs, many women will refuse contraception … or use less effective methods of contraception. “
The mandate has been credited with significantly reducing birth control costs nationwide. Before the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, contraceptives comprised about 30% of all women. out-of-pocket health care costs, according to the National Women’s Law Center. In 2013, the mandate saved women more than $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for birth control pills.
Wednesday’s decision was criticized by leading reproductive health and civil rights groups.
“This is a disgraceful decision from the Supreme Court,” said Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Denying employees and students coverage for birth control will limit their ability to decide if and when to have a family and make other decisions about their futures. And it will exacerbate existing inequities, which will be hardest on people with few resources and people of color.”
Mara Gandal-Powers, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, said she is concerned about the uncertainty the decision creates.
“Right now in the midst of a public health crisis and an economic crisis, not knowing if you’re going to have essential health coverage when you go to pick up your prescription is really scary,” he said. “This is not the purpose of the Affordable Care Act.”
