The Obama administration will continue a legal battle against a Roman Catholic charity consisting of nuns over an Obamacare mandate.
Little Sisters of the Poor disagrees with a mandate that says that employee healthcare plans must cover contraceptives and drugs used for abortions. They claim their religious beliefs preclude them from offering coverage for 20 drugs and devices.
But federal government lawyers are pressing on with the case against the charity despite losing 31 of 34 similar cases, according to a
Daily Signal report. If the government wins and the sisters are forced to provide plans that cover the drugs and devices in question, they will have to either go against their beliefs, or not do so and risk paying fines to the Internal Revenue Service that could severely hamper their work.
Little Sisters of the Poor was founded more than 150 years ago and cares for elderly men and women all over the world. It claims to have served in excess of 31,000 poor and elderly people in 31 countries.
"It's really incredible, even after so many losses in federal court, that the Obama administration is doubling down to enforce this coercive mandate against religious organizations — even against charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor, who do such necessary and effective work serving those in need," Sarah Torre, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, said in the Daily Signal story.
The government recently tweaked its
mandate regarding health plans covering contraceptives and abortion drugs. If a religious or nonprofit organization refuses to cover these as part of its insurance plan, it can write a letter to the government. The government will then order the insurance company to cover an employee's contraceptives or abortion drugs.