Ep. 12: Not a charm: Contraceptive mandate returns to the Supreme Court for the third time

The controversy over the contraceptive mandate was back at the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman react to the live arguments in Trump v. Pennsylvania and give the history of the contraceptive mandate, including how the Hobby Lobby and Zubik cases led to this one. They also share audio clips from key moments in the arguments and discuss what’s at stake for religious liberty when religious accommodations turn into “all-or-nothing” claims on both sides.

Segment 1: The history of the contraceptive mandate (starting at 00:40)

For more resources on the 2016 Zubik v. Burwell case (also known as the “Little Sisters of the Poor” case) and to read our brief written with Douglas Laycock, visit BJConline.org/Zubik.

Segment 2: Breaking down the arguments in Trump v. Pennsylvania (Starting at 21:33)

To listen to the oral arguments in Trump v. Pennsylvania from May 6, 2020, visit this link from C-SPAN.

The excerpts Holly and Amanda used in the podcast can be found at the following time in the oral arguments:

The clip of Chief Justice John Roberts is from around 27:44 into the arguments

The clip of Justice Stephen Breyer is from around 35:00 into the arguments

The clip of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is from around 32:44 into the arguments

The clip of Justice Sonia Sotomayor is from around 40:00 into the arguments

Segment 3: What else is happening in our world (starting at 39:30)

Next week’s consolidated cases on the ministerial exception are known as Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morissey-Berru. Amanda and Holly discussed the issue in episode 5 of this podcast series during the second segment.

See BJC’s page of coronavirus articles and podcasts at BJConline.org/COVID-19.

To read stories we shared on Giving Tuesday Now from members of our community making a difference, visit BJConline.org/givingtuesdaynow-2020.

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