Washington D.C., Oct 9, 2019 / 16:00 pm
The Little Sisters of the Poor have filed a petition requesting that the Supreme Court affirm the religious exemption protecting them from having to comply with the HHS Contraceptive Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
The renewed petition comes after several states, including Pennsylvania and California, sued the Little Sisters of the Poor in response to an exemption granted to them in 2017 after their last appearance before the Supreme Court.
"The states are arguing that even though there's injunctions in the mandate in the Little Sisters' case in this country, it violated the law for the federal government to issue a religious exemption," Diana Verm, senior counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told CNA. Becket is providing legal counsel for the Little Sisters of the Poor.
"The Little Sisters just want to go back to serving the elderly poor," said Verm. "If the Supreme Court rules in their favor, they'll be able to do so."