Somehow we all probably knew it wouldn't last.
Court after court has ruled that non-profits (and now privately held companies) that object to providing contraceptive coverage in their health insurance must notify the government of their objection, allowing the government to arrange coverage paid by the insurer and theoretically taking the moral problem away from the organization.
However, today a panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that this, too is "burdensome" on the organization, violating their 1st Amendment rights. (Ruling (PDF))
Follow below the complex orange diagram of legal analysis for details...
Note that this is an appeal by the government against a preliminary injunction issued by the District Court.
The Washington Post article suggests that this will lead inevitably to a Supreme Court appeal, but it's possible that the Administration could first call for an en banc review by the full circuit.
The judges hearing the case are:
- Judge Roger Wollman, former Chief Judge of the circuit, appointed by Reagan in 1985
- Judge Steven Colloton, appointed by George W. Bush in 2003; former assistant to Kenneth Starr
- Judge William Benton, appointed by George W. Bush in 2004; former director of Revenue under Gov. John Ashcroft
Certainly a good set of judges for the plaintiffs. Unfortunately, a rehearing in the 8th Circuit might not be any better. The court has 10 active judges; by appointment, they are broken down to:
- Reagan: 1 (who ruled against the government)
- GHW Bush: 1
- Clinton: 1
- GW Bush: 6 (2 of whom ruled against the government)
- Obama: 1
That has to be one of the most conservative full benches in the land. Ouch.
The Appeals Court does not appear to bother with adjudicating the preliminary injunction. Rather, their ruling goes directly to the heart of the case. The court finds that the government could possibly know who the plaintiff's insurance providers are without the plaintiffs actually providing the information, and could find out in any case without applying a monetary penalty, so that's too burdensome.