DOJ rejects nuns' argument on ObamaCare contraception mandate

[Geee]

The Hill:

The Obama administration on Friday offered a vigorous defense of the Affordable Care Act's "birth control mandate," disputing as unfounded the religious challenge that led a Supreme Court justice to partially block the provision from taking effect this week.

 

In court papers filed ahead of a 10 a.m. deadline, the Justice Department asked the High Court to lift its stay on the contentious regulations, pointing to language allowing certain nonprofit groups to easily opt out of paying for contraception as part of employee health insurance plans.

 

Groups, including the order of nuns who won a temporary reprieve this week, need only self-certify that they are religious nonprofit organizations and object to the requirement.

"With the stroke of their own pen, applicants can secure for themselves the relief they seek from this Court — an exemption from the requirements of the contraceptive-coverage provision," the U.S. Solicitor General wrote in a 37-page motion seeking denial of a permanent injunction.

[Valin]