A federal appeals court has ruled that the Roman Catholic order Little Sisters of the Poor can join the Trump administration in fighting a case over the rollback of the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit last year to halt a new rule that was aimed at providing exemptions to religious employers who do not want to pay for contraceptives because it would violate their beliefs.
A federal judge had issued an injunction against the new policy as a result of the lawsuit, prompting the Little Sisters to file an appeal.
According to CourtHouse News, a three judge panel at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the Little Sisters are entitled to present their arguments to support the Trump administration's decision to issue the expanded exemptions.
"Contrary to the district court's decision, we agree with the Little Sisters that their interest in preserving the religious exemption is concrete and capable of definition," U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman wrote in a unanimous 20-page ruling.
Under the Affordable Care Act, employers are required to provide contraceptive coverage for workers. The policy did not provide exemptions for nuns and other religious employers.
In October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new exemptions that allowed for "regulatory relief for religious objectors to Obamacare's burdensome preventive services mandate, a position supported by the Supreme Court decision in Hobby Lobby."
Shapiro and attorney generals from other states - including California, Massachusetts and Washington - challenged the expansion in court, arguing that the policy could result in "serious medical harm" including unintended pregnancies.
"If women forgo contraception because of cost, there will be more abortions," Penn State Professor Cynthia Chuang, who was enlisted by Pennsylvania to argue against the rollback in court.
The Little Sisters had previously won a similar case at the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Catholic order has joined the case as it faces massive fines if it refuses to provide contraceptive coverage.
Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor expressed hope that the court will again rule in the group's favor in its latest legal battle.
"We pray that soon this trying time will be over; that the court will rule as the Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the government doesn't need us to provide these services to women. As Little Sisters of the Poor, all we want is to follow our calling of serving the elderly poor," she said in a statement.
Becket, a nonprofit law firm representing the nuns in court, celebrated the Third Circuit's decision.
"The appeals court got it right — the Little Sisters should be allowed their day in court to argue for their rights," Becket's senior counsel Lori Windham said in a statement.
