Written by Don Byrd
Here’s a brief update to an important story in the ongoing saga of religious freedom as it relates (or doesn’t relate) to the contraception coverage mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
By a 7-5 margin, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals voted not to rehear a panel’s recent ruling. Late last month, a 3-judge panel denied Conestoga Wood Services an injunction against the mandate. The 2-1 decision rested on the conclusion that for-profit, secular corporations cannot exercise religion, a finding that lands them in direct conflict with a ruling in the 10th Circuit on a similar challenge.
As a result, the plaintiffs have announced they will now take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court is widely expected to step in and resolve this difference of opinions.
