The Little Sisters of the Poor are back in court for what seems like the billionth time.
Now, however, the religious women have had enough and have petitioned the Supreme Court to hear their case. The case, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump, asks the Court to protect the sisters from the Health and Human Services contraception mandate forcing them to provide birth control to patrons, in violation of their religious conscience. The court has decided to hear several controversial cases as of late, including two cases on abortion issues. So, it is possible they could take on this case at some point as well.
Although the Little Sisters have been to the Supreme Court twice in the last several years, their cases have never fully been resolved, opening the door for additional lawsuits challenging the results.
In 2016, the Supreme Court tossed the Little Sisters case and several similar ones back to their respective courts of appeals for reconsideration. Two years later, according to Becket, the legal organization defending them, “HHS announced a new rule protecting religious non-profits, including the Little Sisters, but several states, including Pennsylvania and California, immediately sued the federal government to take that protection away, forcing the Little Sisters back to court.”
It’s now time for a final resolution in front of the Supreme Court.
“It has been six long years since we began our legal battle against government mandates that threaten our ministry,” said Mother Lorraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in a statement through Becket. “We hope we have finally reached the end of this arduous process, that the Supreme Court will reaffirm their previous decision, and that we will soon be able to keep our focus on the elderly poor.”
The Little Sisters have been in litigation over the contraception mandate for six long years. This handy graphic from Becket puts their lengthy battle in perspective.
In fact, it’s hard to understate how absurd it is that this group of sweet nuns who have dedicated their lives to helping the poor is even in litigation at all, let alone battling for their religious freedom, as if they’ve erred in some way. The HHS contraception mandate should never have existed, and a religious exemption is obviously called for — of course churches and other religious organizations should not have to provide birth control to people.
It not only violates their religious conscience, but there are plenty of other ways to access birth control. Do you know anyone who has needed to get birth control from a nun? Anyone at all?
That Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, should actually believe it’s in the state’s interest and best use of taxpayer resources to sue nuns for not providing birth control when it’s accessible elsewhere is one of the most demonstrative examples of the toxic liberal agenda currently circulating through the court system.
This is nothing more than a calculated witch hunt, except the only “crime” is having a religious conscience, and the supposed witches are literal nuns who have dedicated their lives to following their faith and helping the poor. At this point, the facts demand the Supreme Court take up the case and rule in favor of religious freedom to stop this insanity once and for all.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
