DENVER (AP)
-- In the latest religious challenge to the federal health care law,
faith-based organizations that object to covering birth control in their
employee health plans argued in federal appeals court Monday that the
government hasn't gone far enough to ensure they don't have to violate
their beliefs.
Plaintiffs including a group of
Colorado nuns and four Christian colleges in Oklahoma argued in the
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver that a federal exemption
for groups that oppose contraceptives, including the morning-after pill,
violates their beliefs.
The groups don't have
to cover such contraceptives, as most insurers must. But they have to
tell the government they object on religious grounds in order to get an
exemption. They argued Monday that because they must sign away coverage
to another party, the exemption makes them complicit in providing
contraceptives.
"It is morally problematic" to sign the forms, argued Greg Baylor, lawyer for Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.
"There
are plenty of other ways the government could put (emergency
contraception) in the hands of the people without us," Baylor said.
But a lawyer for the government insisted the exemptions aren't a significant burden on the groups' exercise of religion.
Adam
Jed of the Department of Justice argued that the government has done
enough to accommodate religious exceptions to the birth-control mandate.
He said that not requiring some sort of action by the groups would
force the government to act as a "detective agency" to determine why any
employer is not covering the contraceptives.
"We disagree that the act of opting out constitutes a substantial burden on their religious belief," Jed said.
Even opting out violates those beliefs, the groups said.
"You
can't say, sister, you should really sign that form because it's not
really a big deal," said Mark Rienzi of the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, who argued for the Denver nuns.
The three judges concentrated their questions on whether the opt-out forms amount to a "substantial burden."
Judge
Bobby Baldock asked why the exemption process burdens religious groups
when the form essentially tells the government, "You can go pound sand
because we don't condone it, we don't agree with it."
Baldock seemed perplexed about why the government needs any form at all from religious objectors.
"You already know that the (nuns) raised their hands and said, `We're not going to do this,'" Baldock said.
The judges didn't indicate when they might rule.
The
same court ruled last year that for-profit companies can join the
exempted religious organizations and not provide contraceptive coverage.
The U.S. Supreme Court later agreed with the 10th Circuit in the case
brought by the Hobby Lobby arts-and-crafts chain.
The
birth-control rule has been among the most divisive aspects of the
health care overhaul. Some advocates for women praise the mandate.
Under
the health care law, most health insurance plans have to cover all Food
and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives as preventive care for
women, free of cost to the patient.
Churches
and other houses of worship are exempt from the birth control
requirement, but affiliated institutions that serve the general public
are not. That includes charitable organizations, universities and
hospitals.
In addition to the Denver nuns and
Southern Nazarene University, the 10th Circuit heard challenges from
Oklahoma Baptist University, Mid-America University and Oklahoma
Wesleyan University. Also challenging the waiver process was a group
called Reaching Souls International, an evangelist Oklahoma organization
that does Christian mission work overseas.