A federal court ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor regarding government contraception mandates. The court sided with New Jersey and Pennsylvania, stating the federal government didn't follow proper procedure when issuing exemptions. The court found religious exemptions granted during the Trump administration were 'arbitrary and capricious'. The Little Sisters of the Poor plan to appeal the ruling.
13 days ago
A federal court has ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor (LSP) in their ongoing legal battle concerning government contraception mandates 1, 3. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided with New Jersey and Pennsylvania, determining that religious exemptions previously granted by the federal government during the Trump administration were "arbitrary and capricious" 1, 3. These exemptions, which included those for the Little Sisters, were found to have failed to adhere to the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act and have been vacated "in their entirety" 1, 3.
This latest ruling marks a significant setback for the religious order, despite their prior victories, including a 2020 decision at the U.S. Supreme Court 1, 3. In that 2020 ruling, the Supreme Court had affirmed the legality of the contraception mandate exemptions 1, 3. According to Diana Thomson, a senior attorney with Becket, the legal advocacy group representing the Little Sisters, the arguments presented by New Jersey and Pennsylvania in this district court case were "cutting-floor arguments" that the states had previously chosen not to pursue at the Supreme Court 1, 3.
The Little Sisters of the Poor intend to appeal this new ruling, with Diana Thomson indicating they are prepared to go "all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to" 1, 3. Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the Little Sisters, expressed frustration, stating it is "absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court" to resolve an issue that has led to over a dozen years of litigation 1, 3. Rienzi also criticized the district court for issuing a nationwide ruling invalidating federal religious conscience rules and for allegedly avoiding the "glaring constitutional issues" of the case 1, 3.
What is the Church's teaching on contraception?
The Catholic Church teaches that contraception is intrinsically immoral . This teaching is considered definitive and irreformable . The Church's stance is founded on the belief that every conjugal act must remain open to the transmission of life, upholding the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of sexual intercourse .
Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, affirmed that the teaching of the Church is based on the "inseparable connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning" .
When couples use contraception, they separate these two meanings that God has inscribed in human sexuality . This action is seen as acting as "arbiters" of the divine plan, manipulating and degrading human sexuality, and with it, themselves and their married partner . The innate language of total reciprocal self-giving is overlaid by an objectively contradictory language, that of not giving oneself totally to the other . This applies not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love .
While the Church condemns contraception, it acknowledges and supports responsible parenthood . Married couples may limit the number of their children for legitimate reasons by natural means . The use of natural methods of fertility regulation is considered ethically distinct from contraception because it respects the "logic of the reciprocal gift between man and woman" and the authentic communion of love and life . This approach is understood as an anthropological difference, involving two irreconcilable concepts of the person and human sexuality .
The Church's teaching on contraception has been consistently reaffirmed. Pope Pius XI's 1930 encyclical Casti Connubii condemned artificial birth control methods within marriage . Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae in 1968 further elaborated on this teaching, and it has been repeatedly emphasized by subsequent popes, including Pope John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio and in various addresses . The Catechism of the Catholic Church also clearly reaffirms this teaching .