A federal appeals court in Denver ruled Tuesday that the Little Sisters of the Poor must comply with a provision in President Obama's health care law and allow their employees to obtain birth control medicine through a third-party insurer.
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Colorado-based Catholic order of nuns, must sign an exemption waiver if it wants to refuse to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees.
The group sued the Obama administration over an Affordable Care Act provision that allows religious nonprofits to opt out covering birth control if it violates their religious beliefs by first filling out a form for exemption with the federal government. The Little Sisters argued before the three-judge panel that signing such a waiver would essentially violate their faith by making them complicit in the birth control program.
The court disagreed, writing, "Although we recognize and respect the sincerity of plaintiffs' beliefs and arguments, we conclude the accommodation scheme relieves plaintiffs of their obligations under the mandate and does not substantially burden their religious exercise under RFRA (The Religious Freedom Restoration Act) or infringe upon their First Amendment rights," The Huffington Post reported.
Sister Loraine Marie Maguire said after the ruling that "we simply cannot choose between our care for the elderly and our faith," according to Fox News.
Forcing the Little Sisters to make such a choice "violates our nation's commitment to ensuring that people from diverse faiths can freely follow God's calling in their lives," she said.
