Federal Appeals Court Upholds ACA Contraception Accommodation

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ACA's contraception accommodation, making it the eighth circuit court to rule for the federal government in this matter. This same accommodation will be heard in front of the Supreme Court next month.

From the opinion:

We hold that the accommodation for the contraceptive mandate does not violate RFRA because it does not substantially burden the plaintiffs’ religious exercise and because the government’s regulatory scheme is the least restrictive means of furthering its compelling interests. The regulations also do not violate the Free Exercise, Establishment, and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. With regard to EWTN, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the government. With regard to CENGI and Catholic Charities, we vacate the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the 86 plaintiffs’ RFRA claim and remand to the district court with instructions to grant the government’s summary judgment motion.

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