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17h ago

Third Circuit Hears Appeal Over Little Sisters' Contraceptive Exemption

The court’s decision will decide whether federal exemptions let employers opt out of ACA contraceptive coverage.

Nuns from Little Sisters of the Poor based in Scranton, Pa., participate during a "March For Life" walk on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in Dunmore, Pa. Friday marked the 43rd anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision to legalize abortion.
Nuns with the Little Sisters of The Poor, including Sister Celestine, left, and Sister Jeanne Veronique, center, rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, as the court hears arguments to allow birth control in healthcare plans in the Zubik vs. Burwell case.

Overview

  • On Tuesday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit heard arguments on whether religious employers must include contraceptive coverage in their ACA-linked health plans.
  • Lawyers for New Jersey and Pennsylvania told the panel the Trump-era 2017 rule reaches beyond religious ministries and could cut employer-paid contraceptive coverage for roughly 120,000 women.
  • The Becket Fund and the Little Sisters of the Poor asked the court to block an August 2025 district-court ruling that would force the nuns to add contraceptive coverage or face millions in fines.
  • Judge Cheryl Ann Krause and other panel members pressed lawyers on how officials could draw a clear line between sincere religious ministries and other employers if exemptions are expanded.
  • The dispute builds on a long legal arc from HHS’s 2012 contraceptive mandate through a 2016 Supreme Court accommodation and the 2017 exemption rule, and the appeals court is expected to rule in the coming months with major effects for employer health plans and access to care.