A small Christian college and two Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania have been adequately exempted by the Obama administration from paying for birth control coverage, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit blocked a challenge brought by Geneva College and the dioceses of Pittsburgh and Erie. The groups argue that their religious freedom is being violated because they must fill out paperwork to get out of providing the coverage to their students and employees.
The judges disagreed, saying that simply being required to fill out the opt-out form isn’t coercive.
“The submission of the self-certification form does not make the appellees ‘complicit’ in the provision of contraceptive coverage,” wrote Judge Marjorie Rendell. “If anything, because the appellees specifically state on the self-certification form that they object on religious grounds to providing such coverage, it is a declaration that they will not be complicit in providing coverage.”
The challenge is one of dozens of court cases prompted by the Obama administration’s rule that all Food and Drug Administration-approved birth control be included in the health plans employers must provide workers under the health care law. Churches are exempted from the requirement, while religious colleges or charities can opt for a third party to provide the coverage instead.
That’s the next big question for courts to answer: Whether the exemption goes far enough for religious nonprofits. Last summer, the Supreme Court said Hobby Lobby and other for-profit businesses can be exempted from the mandate if it violates owners’ personal religious beliefs.
Three other federal appeals courts, the 6th and 7th circuits and the D.C. circuit, also have blocked challenges brought by nonprofits.
Geneva College is “seriously considering” appealing the 3rd Circuit decision, attorneys said Wednesday.
“Geneva College simply wants to abide by the Christian faith it espouses and teaches instead of being forced into an unacceptable inconsistency by the government,” said Gregory Baylor, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing Geneva College. “The administration has no business punishing people of faith for making decisions consistent with that faith.”
