The next big Obamacare question of whether religious schools can duck the birth control mandate got another federal appeals court hearing on Tuesday.
One of several similar lawsuits winding their way through the courts, this one is brought by two Baptist colleges that say the Obama administration hasn’t provided enough of an out from having to provide birth control coverage for workers under Obamacare.
Like other religious schools, hospitals and charities, East Texas Baptist and Houston Baptist argue they should be entirely exempted from that requirement. The administration has said if they don’t want to pay for it, they can sign a form transferring that ability to a third-party insurer — but the groups say that still involves them in coverage for birth control they morally oppose.
“The government is using East Texas Baptist and Houston Baptist’s health plans to deliver drugs and devices they object to,” said Diana Verm, counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the group representing the universities. “That’s a violation of their religious liberty and the law.”
The case was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Tuesday morning. A federal district court in Texas upheld the universities’ challenge in December 2013.
The Supreme Court has lifted the birth control coverage requirement for certain for-profit corporations, but it hasn’t yet ruled on whether the Obama administration’s accommodation for religious schools, hospitals and charities goes far enough.
The 2010 healthcare law says employers with more than 50 workers must provide them with health coverage that includes certain preventive services. The Obama administration has said that includes all birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
In March, the justices told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit to reconsider a similar lawsuit brought by the University of Notre Dame, after the court had blocked it. Federal appeals courts in the District of Columbia, Philadelphia and Cincinnati have also blocked similar challenges brought by nonprofits.
