More than 90 lawsuits have been filed by corporations, nonprofit groups, and religious-affiliated organizations seeking to block the contraception mandate. The groups say the requirement that they pay for workers’ access to such contraceptive methods violates their sincerely held religious beliefs.
The Obama administration exempted churches and other religious organizations from compliance with that aspect of the law. And after objections, the administration created an opt-out provision to help insulate a wider range of religious-affiliated groups from the mandate.
But that has not satisfied many religious objectors.
Among them is the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged in Denver. In September, the group filed a federal lawsuit complaining that on Jan. 1 it would be subject to the contraceptive mandate and thus potentially liable to pay millions of dollars in fines to the Internal Revenue Service for failure to comply with the government’s demands.