SCOTUS rules religious beliefs are reason enough for employers not to provide contraceptives

In an astonishing blow to women’s rights this week — SCOTUS has ruled that certain employers and universities can now lawfully refuse to pay for women’s birth control pills (aka contraceptives.) According to the ruling, the Supreme Court now has handed religious orgs; businesses, and some universities the right to declare that under religious mandate or morale contraceptives aren’t going to be paid for.

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The case initially stemmed from Little Sisters of the Poor v Pennsylvania. Originally, religious themed organisations and such sought to overturn parts of the Affordable Care Act ‘s “contraceptive mandate.” Some sought to outright overturn the mandate, others simply sought to obtain waivers allowing for their employees to seek coverage and the like elsewhere.

Basically, organisations like the Little Sisters of the Poor managed to successfully argue that filing out such forms for exemptions or even waivers violates their right to “freedom of conscious.” The case doesn’t appear to be over and almost inevitably is set to be continued.