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Catholic Nuns Lose Case: Employees Must Have Contraceptive Coverage

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Denver’s Little Sisters of the Poor lost their case against the Obama administration because they couldn’t prove the contraceptive mandate caused a burden.

Denver’s Little Sisters of the Poor – a Catholic order of nuns – who challenged the Obamacare contraception mandate have lost their case in a federal appeals court. They must now allow their employees to have contraception coverage, the Huffington Post reports.

Religious groups in the United States are exempt from covering contraceptives.

The Little Sisters of the Poor together with four Christian colleges in Oklahoma, however, decided to sue the Obama administration because the exemption, according to them, doesn’t go far enough because they must sign away the coverage to another party.

The Little Sisters of the Poor argued that filling out a form for an exemption involves them in providing contraceptives, even though they to pay for or provide them.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal appeals court in Denver, ruled against the Colorado nuns. According to the court ruling, the Little Sisters of the Poor failed to prove that the Obamacare contraception mandate placed a burden on their right to exercise freedom of religion. The nuns must now provide the health benefit, or actively apply for the exemption or pay IRS penalties.

The Little Sisters of the Poor, who were represented in the court by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, are now reviewing the decision and possibly seeking relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Little Sisters of the Poor run about 30 nursing homes in the United States. One of the nursing homes is in Denver.

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