Pennsylvania Judge Defies Supreme Court in Attack on Religious Liberty

PHILADELPHIA, PA- In what appears to be another case of a district court defying a Supreme Court ruling, a federal district court in Philadelphia last week sided with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey in forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to either provide abortion and contraceptives in their healthcare plan or pay millions in fines, the Becket Fund reported. 

The Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns who primarily care for the elderly poor, cited religious conscience in refusing to provide the services.

The Pennsylvania ruling, which Judge Wendy Beetlestone expanded to include the entire country, came despite a 2020 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal rule protecting the Little Sisters and other religious groups from the federal contraception mandate. 

However, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, governed by committed leftist governors, have continued to fight in court to remove protection from the Catholic order.

The ruling keeps that effort alive, however the Little Sisters have vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

Under the Obama administration, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a federal contraception and abortion mandate as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called “Obamacare.”

Under that mandate, employers are forced to provide contraceptives such as the “morning after pill” in their health insurance plans, some of which induce abortions. 

The original mandate exempted some plans covering tens of millions of people for administrative convenience and “grandfathering,” however, in a direct assault on religious liberty, groups such as the Little Sisters of the Poor were not given a religious conscience exemption. 

The Little Sisters won protection against the mandate at the Supreme Court in 2016 and in a new federal rule in 2017.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania sued to take away that protection. The 2017 rule exempted groups like the Little Sisters from the mandate, however around a dozen state governments sued over the rule.

That led to the 2020 Supreme Court decision, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. Despite that decision, New Jersey and Pennsylvania continue to insist on litigating the case, primarily through lower district courts. 

In response to the Pennsylvania court decision last week, Mark Rienzi, president of Becket Religious Liberty for All, issued the following statement:

“The district court blessed an out-of-control effort by Pennsylvania and New Jersey to attack the Little Sisters and religious liberty,” he said.

“It’s bad enough that the district court issued a nationwide ruling invalidating federal religious conscience rules. But even worse is that the district court simply ducked the glaring constitutional issues in this case, after waiting five years and not even holding a hearing. It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue. We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters’ right to care for the elderly in peace.” 

The ruling in Pennsylvania is the latest case of a district judge apparently overstepping their bounds in issuing injunctions or orders that have national implications.

That trend has come to light after a series of attempts to block the Trump administration and the president himself from using executive branch authority. The Supreme Court has already slapped down several federal district judges who attempted to overstep their authority.  

In response to the nationwide order, the Little Sisters, through spokesperson Mother Loraine Marie Maguire, said: 

“As Little Sisters of the Poor, we dedicate our lives to caring for the elderly poor until God calls them home,” she said. “We will continue to fight for the right to carry out our mission without violating our faith, and we pray Pennsylvania and New Jersey will end this needless harassment.” 

The religious order is expected to appeal the ruling within a matter of weeks.