US judge blocks Trump religious exemption to birth control coverage
A federal judge found the Trump-era contraceptive exemptions arbitrary and vacated them, affecting tens of thousands of religious employers who sought relief from coverage mandates.
- U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia struck down the 2018 religious exemptions to the ACA's contraception mandate on August 14, 2025, calling them 'arbitrary and capricious'.
- Fourteen years ago, the Department of Health and Human Services enacted the ACA contraception mandate, allowing exemptions for religious or moral employers, which the Trump administration expanded in 2018.
- Beetlestone on Wednesday noted a mismatch between the exemption’s vast scope and the small number of affected employers, criticizing publicly traded companies and the Hobby Lobby precedent.
- The court vacated the exemptions in their entirety, potentially forcing groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor into compliance or fines, and they will appeal in the coming weeks.
- The Biden administration proposed new rules in 2023 to preserve some religious exemptions with an 'individual contraceptive arrangement' but withdrew that proposal weeks before Biden left office, and critics warn that allowing district courts to override Supreme Court precedent could spur endless legal challenges.
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"Hamas is Sympathetic and Nuns Are Scary and Must Be Bullied Into Submission" - Geller Report
Founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan, the Little Sisters of the Poor are an international congregation of Roman Catholic women religious, serving the elderly poor in over 30 countries “The mission of the Little Sisters of the Poor is to offer the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home where they will be welcomed as Christ, cared for as family and accompanied with dignity until God calls them to himself” Federal Court Issues Nationwi…
District Court Rules Against Nuns, Trump Admin To Block Religious Exemption For Contraception Mandate
A federal district court in Philadelphia ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Trump administration on Wednesday, blocking exemptions that prevent religious groups from being required to cover birth control costs in their health plans. Despite previous failed attempts to force the sisters to conform, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey sued the Trump administration […]
Federal judge blocks Trump administration’s broad birth control mandate exemptions
The Trump administration’s religious and moral carve-outs to an ObamaCare requirement that all employer health plans cover contraception at no cost were blocked on Wednesday by a federal judge. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia issued a summary judgment that the rules were arbitrary, capricious and an overreach of the authority of the agencies that…
Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal - Catholic Review
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — A federal district court in Philadelphia Aug. 13 struck down a religious conscience rule implemented by the first Trump administration exempting employers with religious or moral concerns from having to provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives and other drugs or procedures to which they have an objection. The Little Sisters of the Poor, defendants in the suit, are expected to appeal. In a nationw…
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