Reaction to White House Rule Change

Written by Don Byrd
There are at least some who remain unsatisfied by the White House’s announcement that health reform laws will not require religious organizations like schools and hospitals to provide contraception coverage as a part of insurance plans for employees after all. Most of those folks though seem to be either running for President or actively engaged in a lawsuit over the coverage mandate.

A Possible Solution to Contraception Controversy?

Written by Don Byrd
There’s been at least hints of compromise on the part of the White House regarding the Administration’s decision to require religious schools and hospitals with diverse employment to provide contraception coverage in their health care plans, just like all other employers. This story is showing no signs of going away, and the rhetoric on both sides is bending more toward escalation than toward resolution.

The significance of Supreme Court review

Written by K. Hollyn Hollman, BJC General Counsel
So far this term, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review lower court decisions in two high-profile religious liberty disputes, one involving cross displays erected along Utah’s highways and another concerning a New York church’s long-term use of a public school building for its weekly Sunday worship services. In the former case, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 19 page dissent — atypical at the petition stage — expressing his disagreement with the Court’s decision not to grant review.

9th Circuit Finds Proposition 8 Unconstitutional, Religious Liberty Arguments Irrelevant

Written by Don Byrd
While this is far from the headline of today’s 9th Circuit ruling invalidating California’s moratorium on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, the court did address, and dismiss, one argument related to religious liberty raised in friend-of-the-court briefs. Protecting religious liberty in the state, the argument goes, provides a legal justification for the referendum.