Religious nonprofits challenge health law

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By KRISTEN WYATT

DENVER (AP) — Faith-based nonprofit organizations that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans are in federal court Monday to challenge a birth-control compromise they say still compels them to violate their religious beliefs.

The plaintiffs include a group of Colorado nuns and four Christian colleges in Oklahoma. They are already exempt from covering contraceptives under the federal health care law.

But they say the exemption doesn't go far enough because they must sign away the coverage to another party, making them feel complicit in providing the contraceptives.

The groups are appealing to the 10th Circuit in Denver, the court that ruled last year that for-profit companies can join the exempted religious organizations and not provide the contraceptives.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141208/us-health-overhaul-birth-control-28455752de.html

[Fred Sanders]

1. You know what else violates your fucking "faith"? The entire GOP crusade against the poor...so why

the fuck are you not suing them?

[blkmusclmachine]

2. The Buybull beaters are VERY selective in their outrage. Hypocrites!

[Feral Child]

3. So, they want to "insure"

their employees can't get any coverage for the "Nasty"?

Fucking control freaks. I have no respect for these pious, sanctimonious, misogynist assholes, and little respect for the foolish marks that support their grifting.

[riversedge]

5. #1

[riversedge]

4. I see this is an appeal...

..... The groups are appealing to the 10th Circuit in Denver, the court that ruled last year that for-profit companies can join the exempted religious organizations and not provide the contraceptives.

The U.S. Supreme Court later agreed with the 10th Circuit in the case brought by the Hobby Lobby arts-and-crafts chain.

The birth-control rule has been among the most divisive aspects of the health care overhaul. Some advocates for women praise the mandate, but some religious groups have decried it as an attack on religious freedom.

The Denver nuns, called the Little Sisters of the Poor, run more than two dozen nursing homes for impoverished seniors. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court offered the nuns a short-term reprieve on the exemption pending their appeal.

The government will argue Monday that its 2013 rule on religious groups and contraceptives, which requires only that a religious group sign "a self-certification form stating that it is an eligible organization," does not make that religious group complicit in providing ....

[Feral Child]

6. I think this (non)issue is divisive

primarily because it's one of the few quasi-legitimate openings to attach the ACA. All conservatives seem to be personally affronted by this law, but they can hardly sue because they hate having a black president, or because they think only the wealthy deserve to be healthy.

I say quasi-legitimate only because they've gotten away with this ridiculous concern before conservative-activist judges legislating from the bench. In actually the 1st does not grant religious groups the right to trump the law.

Another qualifier is "religious belief". It has been narrowly defined by the courts. I can't recall the citation and I'm too lazy to look it up, but a church composed of whites that had converted to a Native American faith were denied the right to partake of peyote as a sacrament even though NAs practicing the same faith were allowed. The decision stated that the white church involved didn't have a tradition for the sacrament whereas the NAs did. In truth, the judge in question was a conservative and held strong anti-drug beliefs. My point is that there is no Biblical prohibition on birth-control per se, though the Thumpers try to cite the mention of Onan as their source. That's a subjective stretch that's been used to condemn recreational sex for millenia, including masturbation, birth control and abortion. It's their coverall excuse for fucking over people, mostly women, but also, quite conveniently, adolescent boys and girls.

Summing, they're hateful people that object to any program that helps the poor without requiring an acceptance of Christianity and this is the only approach they have for circumventing the law. In fact, the suit (or appeal) should be dismissed because it favors one faith over others..

[cstanleytech]

7. I think its a BS argument they are making as the same then could be

argued by them for having to pay a worker minimum wage in that the worker might use the money to buy condoms.
They really need to back the stop this BS and focus on the important things.

[quadrature]

8. how many USSenate seats is *this* worth?

** ... abortion coverage for men