Supreme Court deeply divided over religious freedom, reproductive rights
An epic legal clash between religious liberty and reproductive rights left the Supreme Court deeply divided Wednesday, raising the likelihood that the justices will deadlock over a challenge by non-profits to the so-called "contraceptive mandate." Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY
Richard Wolf, USA TODAY
5:41 p.m. EDT March 23, 2016
WASHINGTON — An epic legal clash between religious liberty and reproductive rights left the Supreme Court deeply divided Wednesday, raising the likelihood that the justices will deadlock over a challenge by religious non-profits to the federal government's so-called "contraceptive mandate."
In a contentious series of cases that pits the Catholic Church and other religious believers against the Obama administration in the midst of a presidential election, the justices split along familiar lines, with liberals skeptical of the religious groups' claims and conservatives empathetic.
Unlike in 2014, when the court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores and other objectors, only eight justices heard the non-profits' challenge in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia's death last month. That makes it much tougher for the non-profits to win; a 4-4 tie would uphold lower court verdicts in different parts of the country, all but one of which upheld the government mandate.
The justices also could decide to hear the case again when they are back to full strength -- but with President Obama and Senate Republicans at loggerheads over the nomination of federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland, that could take another year or more.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/23/supreme-court-little-sisters-religious-freedom-contraceptive-mandate/82135678/
Video at link.
