US EditionUS 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.
31 Articles
31 Articles
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…
Federal Judge Strikes Down Religious Exception Rule for Obamacare
A federal judge on Aug. 13 vacated a rule that lets employers with religious objections opt out of an Affordable Care Act requirement that states the employers’ insurance should cover abortion and contraceptives. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone said that the rule, and a similar rule relating to moral objections, both of which were put into place in 2018 during the first Trump administration, were arbitrary and capricious, and in violation …
Judge blocks Trump religious exemption to contraception mandate; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal
A federal judge has blocked a rule from the first term of the Trump administration that provided broad exemptions to religious employers who don't want to offer health insurance coverage for birth control as required by the Affordable Care Act. #Trump #LittleSistersofthePoor #contraceptionmandate #religiousfreedom #Becket #Obama
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