BREAKING: In a nationwide ruling against a Trump Administration religious conscience rule, a federal district Court today ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Court sided with Pennsylvania and New Jersey in their years-long effort to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraceptive and abortion coverage in their healthcare plans. Today’s ruling keeps that effort alive, and the Little Sisters have vowed to appeal the decision.
The Little Sisters of the Poor are an order of Catholic nuns who have cared for the elderly poor for nearly 200 years. They have been in court for over fourteen years, fighting for protection from the contraception mandate which requires them either provide services like the week-after pill in their healthcare plan or pay tens of millions of dollars in fines. becketfund.org/case/commonwea…
Fourteen years ago, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a federal mandate as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), requiring employers to provide contraceptives like the week-after pill, including some that can cause abortion, in their health insurance plans. The mandate did not provide a religious exemption. becketfund.org/research-centr…
In 2016, the Little Sisters won protection against the federal government at the Supreme Court, and in 2017, a new federal rule was created which exempted groups like the Little Sisters from the mandate. However, more than a dozen state governments in multiple cases immediately sued over the rule, attempting to strong-arm the Little Sisters into either providing contraceptives or paying tens of millions in fines.
In 2020, the Little Sisters won again at the Supreme Court, securing protection from the mandate. But Pennsylvania and New Jersey have continued to fight in court to strip the Little Sisters of that protection.
The Little Sisters of the Poor dedicate their lives to caring for the elderly poor until God calls them home. They will continue to fight for the right to carry out their mission without violating their faith and pray for an end to this needless harassment.
The district court blessed an out-of-control effort by Pennsylvania and New Jersey to attack the Little Sisters and religious liberty, and the nuns have vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue. But we will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters’ right to care for the elderly in peace.
The link to the opinion can be found here: becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250813120225…
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