Written by Don Byrd
Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell, a consolidation of the cases brought by religious organizations challenging the sufficiency of the Obama administration’s religious accommodation from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.
In commentary for Religion News Service, Baptist Joint Committee General Counsel Holly Hollman writes of the potential impact of the case. Specifically, she explains, the tradition of religious exemptions could be threatened if the Court agrees with the plaintiffs’ arguments. Here is an excerpt from her column:
[T]he religious nonprofit employers make a more direct and potentially devastating attack on specific religious exemptions. They argue the mandate’s exemption system is too narrow because these employers are not treated exactly like churches. At the same time, they argue it is too broad because if the government does not cover church employees it must not have a compelling interest in coverage. Government efforts to craft religious exemptions to protect religious liberty, while also protecting other important governmental interests, should be encouraged, not discouraged with such “all or nothing” exemption claims.
The BJC filed a brief with the Court which emphasizes this point.
Stay tuned tomorrow for coverage of the oral arguments. For more information, see the BJC’s Zubik resource page here.
