"A federal appeals court has ruled that Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a global Catholic TV channel, must cover contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in employee health plans, as mandated by Obamacare.
In a 2-1 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday that the U.S. government has “a compelling interest” to ensure EWTN employees are enrolled in a health plan that provides contraceptives. Requiring that, the court said, doesn’t “substantially burden” the Catholic organization’s free exercise of religion.
The appeals court, however, put a hold on its ruling until the Supreme Court addresses the same issue through similar cases expected to be heard this year.
Under the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans are required to cover contraceptives without cost sharing.
EWTN, founded by a cloistered nun named Mother Angelica, describes itself as “dedicated to the advancement of truth as defined by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church”—which considers the use of contraception morally wrong.
The court’s majority opinion—from Judge Jill Pryor, appointed by President Barack Obama, and Judge R. Lanier Anderson, appointed by President Jimmy Carter—reads:
'We accept that the plaintiffs truly believe that triggering contraceptive coverage or being complicit in a system providing contraceptive coverage violates their religious beliefs. But our objective inquiry leads us to conclude that the government has not put plaintiffs to the choice of violating their religious beliefs or facing a significant penalty.'
The two judges found that federal regulation mandating the contraception coverage doesn’t violate the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prohibits “substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion” except through the use of the “least restrictive means” of furthering a “compelling governmental interest.”
The two judges asserted that requiring “free” contraceptives for EWTN employees reflects the government’s interest in “avoiding the adverse public health consequences of unintended pregnancies and in assuring women the equal benefit of preventative care.”
http://dailysignal.com/2016/02/22/judges-say-catholic-networks-employee-health-plan-must-cover-contraceptives/Yeah, there's no undue burden on EWTN's exercise of religion so long as you don't factor in the court requiring it to violate one of the basic principles of its faith.
Judicial despotism is destroying this country. How very badly we need a Justice Scalia right now. If the court splits 4-4, a distinctly possible outcome given how the Liberal members think Leviathan is far more important than religious freedom, this ruling will stand.
