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The Little Sisters of the Poor Just Beat the Obama Administration at the Supreme Court
National Review ^ | May 16, 2016 | DAVID FRENCH Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/435446/little-sisters-poor-just-bea

Posted on 05/16/2016 3:29:35 PM PDT by NYer

While the consensus view seems to be that the Supreme Court “punted” today by sending the Little Sisters of the Poor case back to the lower courts, I must respectfully dissent. Although the Court didn’t rule on the merits of the case, the Little Sisters won a significant victory — one that is likely (though not yet certain) to persist through the next administration. 

First, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling holding that the Little Sisters had to facilitate access to contraceptives and denied that the mandate substantially burdened their religion. Speaking as a person who’s argued a few cases in courts of appeal — when the court vacates the ruling you’re challenging, that’s a win.

Second, the Supreme Court provided a roadmap for an excellent resolution to the case — by outlining the accommodation it suggested, the Little Sisters endorsed, and the government reluctantly agreed to:

Following oral argument, the Court requested supplemental briefing from the parties addressing “whether contraceptive coverage could be provided to petitioners’ employees, through petitioners’ insurance companies, without any such notice from petitioners.” Post, p. ___. Both petitioners and the Government now confirm that such an option is feasible. Petitioners have clarified that their religious exercise is not infringed where they “need to do nothing more than contract for a plan that does not include coverage for some or all forms of contraception,” even if their employees receive cost-free contraceptive coverage from the same insurance company. Supplemental Brief for Petitioners 4. The Government has confirmed that the challenged procedures “for employers with insured plans could be modified to operate in the manner posited in the Court’s order while still ensuring that the affected women receive contraceptive coverage seamlessly, together with the rest of their health coverage.”

Putting this in plain language, the Court suggested an accommodation that was far more respectful of the Little Sisters’ religious liberty than the challenged Obamacare regulations, and the government will now have extreme difficulty credibly arguing in lower courts that the Supreme Court’s own suggested compromise should be set aside.

Third, this ruling was unanimous. That means the DOJ should be far from confident that it can simply wait out the new presidential election and pursue its original claims with the same hope for success — especially if it spent the intervening years rejecting a compromise that it already seemed to accept.

Fourth, we can’t forget the context. This the second time a unanimous Supreme Court has turned back the Obama administration’s regulatory efforts to restrict religious freedom (Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC was the first), and it represents yet another setback for the administration’s contraception/abortifacient mandate. The Obama administration has pushed hard against religious liberty — on occasion too hard even for the Supreme Court’s more liberal justices.

There’s no doubt that it would have been preferable to win the case on the merits, but this is not the outcome the Obama administration hoped for, and it’s better than the 4-4 tie that most people predicted. A tie would have let stand rulings against the Little Sisters and most of the other religious organizations challenging the mandate. This outcome, by contrast, provides a judicial roadmap for a national victory for religious liberty. Congratulations to the Little Sisters, their fellow petitioners, and their capable counsel. Today is a good day for America’s first freedom.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: catholic; contraception; obama; scotus

1 posted on 05/16/2016 3:29:35 PM PDT by NYer
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To: Tax-chick; GregB; SumProVita; narses; bboop; SevenofNine; Ronaldus Magnus; tiki; Salvation; ...

Catholic ping!


2 posted on 05/16/2016 3:29:55 PM PDT by NYer (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy them. Mt 6:19)
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To: NYer

Thank you for posting this explanation


3 posted on 05/16/2016 3:38:57 PM PDT by hoosiermama (W1237 in Under budget. Ahead of schedule! Go TRUMP GO)
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To: NYer

This will not sit well with the Obama. He will make us all pay.


4 posted on 05/16/2016 3:40:55 PM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: NYer
Here's the email I received from the National Catholic Bioethics Center:

The NCBC Congratulates the Little Sisters of the Poor on HHS Mandate

Today the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recognized, in a unanimous decision, that the HHS can find other means to accomplish its goal of providing universal contraceptive coverage without compromising the deeply held religious beliefs of the numerous petitioners, including the Little Sisters of the Poor.  In its ruling, SCOTUS vacated all lower court decisions against the numerous petitioners, forbidding the implementation of the millions of dollars in penalties against these faith-based organizations. While not indicating that the federal government had violated the free exercise of religion of the petitioners because the HHS did not provide the least restrictive means to accomplish its goals, SCOTUS clearly is asking the lower courts to find other means to accomplish the aims of the Affordable Care Act. The NCBC has been a signatory to 19 amicus briefs in support of petitioners and congratulates each of them for their fortitude this first day after Pentecost Sunday with its blessings of the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

5 posted on 05/16/2016 3:42:14 PM PDT by johniegrad
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To: Organic Panic; hoosiermama; johniegrad
This will not sit well with the Obama. He will make us all pay.

In case you missed it ...

Planned Parenthood CEO: My Proudest Moment is Forcing Christians to Pay for Abortion Drugs

6 posted on 05/16/2016 4:04:16 PM PDT by NYer (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy them. Mt 6:19)
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To: johniegrad

I fear that Obama wants to be moral police on private parties, not just to dole out controversial things in the government’s name when private parties won’t do what he wants.


7 posted on 05/16/2016 4:06:00 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: NYer

Great start!


8 posted on 05/16/2016 4:07:50 PM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion (BREAKING.... Vulgarian Resistance begins attack on the GOPe Death Star.....)
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To: NYer

I know, they thrill to stuffing things down Christians’ throats.

We should remember to be grateful to God that He has chosen to let Little Sisters’ means of extending the grace of God continue without getting them embroiled in an unacceptable way against their conscience.

In general this is a good sign. If God prospers it, then it really was of God. The world, the flesh, the devil may challenge God, may even seem to slow God down, but ultimately can’t stop God.


9 posted on 05/16/2016 4:10:40 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: NYer

We MUST get a Republicans elected in the fall. From top to bottom of the ticket !


10 posted on 05/16/2016 4:11:01 PM PDT by hoosiermama (W1237 in Under budget. Ahead of schedule! Go TRUMP GO)
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To: hoosiermama

We must get Jesus elected in our hearts. To do good things better than we have even dreamed possible.


11 posted on 05/16/2016 4:21:04 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: NYer

If that were your ‘proudest moment’ what a pathetic life you must have lived...


12 posted on 05/16/2016 4:24:46 PM PDT by heterosupremacist ("Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson)
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To: heterosupremacist

It’s what wickedness fundamentally thrills for.


13 posted on 05/16/2016 4:26:23 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Have you been following Franklin Graham ?
The prayer gathering before each primary elections?


14 posted on 05/16/2016 4:30:37 PM PDT by hoosiermama (W1237 in Under budget. Ahead of schedule! Go TRUMP GO)
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To: NYer

# 6 ~ Planned Parenthood CEO: My Proudest Moment is Forcing Christians to Pay for Abortion Drugs ~

If you think that is your ‘proudest moment’ you may as well lie down and DIE!


15 posted on 05/16/2016 4:31:50 PM PDT by heterosupremacist ("Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson)
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To: NYer

:)Saw it on twitter.So happy for them.They couldn’t take the little Nuns praying outside with their Rosaries of the Supreme Court anymore.Gotta love it.father Pavone was pushed done too.Good news


16 posted on 05/16/2016 4:35:32 PM PDT by fatima (Free Hugs Today :))
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To: hoosiermama

Franklin Graham can’t do this for America any more than Ted Cruz could.


17 posted on 05/16/2016 4:37:33 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: NYer

bump


18 posted on 05/16/2016 9:47:12 PM PDT by murron
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To: NYer

Maybe the lower court will get it right this time.


19 posted on 05/16/2016 9:57:00 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: johniegrad

Thanks for posting Johnie. Quite surprised frankly.


20 posted on 05/17/2016 12:18:05 AM PDT by GonzoII ("If the new crime be, to believe in God, let us all be criminals" -Sheen)
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