Family Research Council Cautiously Optimistic on SCOTUS Remand in Zubik v. Burwell case

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, remanded all the cases consolidated in Zubik v. Burwell back to federal appeals courts to be reconsidered as consistent with the positions articulated in the supplemental briefs in the case. In its per curiam decision, the court wrote, "Given the gravity of the dispute and the substantial clarification and refinement in the positions of the parties, the parties on remand should be afforded an opportunity to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners' religious exercise while at the same time ensuring that women covered by petitioners' health plans "receive full and equal health coverage, including contraceptive coverage." This decision is a repudiation of the Obama administration's claims that it needed to violate the Little Sisters religious freedom all along.

Arina Grossu, FRC's Director of the Center for Human Dignity, released the following statement:

"We are encouraged that the Supreme Court did not concede to the Obama administration's unfair demand to force the Little Sisters and other religious institutions to provide contraceptives, drugs, and devices that can destroy human embryos against the Sisters' moral objections.  We are hopeful that the lower courts will also respect their religious freedom and facilitate a mutually acceptable solution that does not force the involvement of the Little Sisters and other groups into the administration's scheme. No American should ever be forced to choose between paying onerous fines or violating their conscience," Grossu concluded.

Travis Weber, Esq., FRC's Director of the Center for Religious Liberty, released the following statement:

"As the Court noted in its opinion today, the religious objectors 'have clarified that their religious exercise is not infringed' by a requirement to contract for a plan as long as it is free of contraception coverage. Today, the Court ordered that the government accommodate this quite reasonable position. This is good news for the religious freedom of the Little Sisters and many others!" Weber concluded.

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SOURCE Family Research Council

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