02-11-2012, 05:13 PM
Although it was an open question whether the original birth control requirement would pass this level of scrutiny, the White House’s announcement Friday allowing religious nonprofits to opt out (in which case the insurer would be forced to pay for birth control without a copay) appears to restrict the RFRA argument to overturn it.
“This neuters the RFRA arguments entirely, it seems to me,” Winkler told TPM after the announcement. “Now that religious institutions are no longer required to [pay for employees’ birth control coverage], it’s hard to make the argument that the contraception mandate substantially burden religious beliefs.”
Interesting how this is presented as if it's an unintentional effect of the Obama administration's action . . . as if it was a random decision that accidentally produced the desired result, rather than a carefully calculated move chosen by legal experts.
“This neuters the RFRA arguments entirely, it seems to me,” Winkler told TPM after the announcement. “Now that religious institutions are no longer required to [pay for employees’ birth control coverage], it’s hard to make the argument that the contraception mandate substantially burden religious beliefs.”
Interesting how this is presented as if it's an unintentional effect of the Obama administration's action . . . as if it was a random decision that accidentally produced the desired result, rather than a carefully calculated move chosen by legal experts.