3 controversial Biden rule change proposals withdrawn ahead of Trump's inauguration
3. Religious liberty for employers opposed to contraceptives
As explained in a notice published Monday, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor first proposed a rule early last year that would have allowed employers opposed to contraception on religious grounds to refrain from covering contraceptives under their employer-sponsored healthcare plans for their employees while providing an option for women working for such employers to obtain contraceptives at no cost.
The proposal also would have abolished a regulation enabling employers with non-religious moral objections to contraceptives from obtaining an exemption from the requirement to provide contraceptive coverage in employer-sponsored healthcare plans. The Biden administration stated its desire to spend “time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules” as the reason why it was withdrawing the proposed rule.
The push to ensure access to contraceptives as part of employer-sponsored healthcare plans and the litigation surrounding it dates back to the Obama administration and the debate over the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled on the side of religious liberty.
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In 2014, the justices sided with Hobby Lobby in its fight to secure an exemption from the healthcare law’s requirement that employer-sponsored healthcare plans cover contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs. In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld a rule implemented by the Trump administration that exempted a group of Catholic nuns known as the Little Sisters of the Poor from having to abide by the contraceptive mandate.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
