Opinion: Nuns’ Argument in Contraception Case ‘Fantastical’

The narrative advanced by Little Sisters of the Poor to buttress its legal claim that its religious liberty is infringed by the White House’s compromise for faith organizations on contraceptive care is “simply fantastical,” according to a New York Times columnist and long-time Supreme Court reporter.

The court last month granted Little Sisters, an order of nuns that provides care for the elderly, a temporary injunction exempting it from the contraceptive mandate until its suit is adjudicated. The charity contends the requirement that faith nonprofits sign a form stating their objection to providing contraceptive care for employees and designating a third-party insurer to do so forces it to violate church doctrine.

Linda Greenhouse, who covered the court for 30 years and now writes a column on legal issues, notes that because the charity’s insurance provider is also a religious nonprofit and has said it will not provide such care, “there is no chance—none—that the Little Sisters will ever have to have anything whatsoever to do with birth control.”

“The [Obama] administration has made clear that it will accept the Little Sisters’ self-certification at face value. But they do have to sign—just as someone who objects on religious grounds to registering for the draft nonetheless is required by law to show up and register as a prerequisite for claiming conscientious objector status,” Ms. Greenhouse writes. She says she is “stumped” that the court “appears to have fallen for [the charity’s argument] hook, line and sinker.”