Denver Court Rules Affordable Care Act Does Not Violate Nuns' Religious Freedom

A Denver federal appeals court ruled this week that a sisterhood of nuns based in Denver, Colorado must abide by the Affordable Care Act's requirements for birth control coverage despite their religious objections.

Denver's 10th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in their 3-panel opinion this week that the religious beliefs of the Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor are not burdened by the Affordable Care Act's birth control requirements.

The Affordable Care Act contains an exemption for religious groups that oppose providing birth control insurance coverage to their employees based on religious grounds, but it requires religious employers to sign contraceptive coverage over to a third insurance party.

The Little Sisters of the Poor argued that by signing the contraceptive insurance over to a third party, they are still playing a role in providing their employees with birth control.

The three-judge panel wrote that the Affordable Care Act's exemption did not encroach on their religious beliefs.

"Although we recognize and respect the sincerity of plaintiffs' beliefs and arguments, we conclude the accommodation scheme [...] does not substantially burden their religious exercise," the opinion read.

The Little Sisters of the Poor released a statement arguing that they shouldn't be forced to choose between their faith and their mission to care for others.

"As Little Sisters of the Poor we simply cannot choose between our care for the elderly poor and our faith, and we should not have to make that choice because it violates our nation's commitment to ensuring that people from diverse faiths can freely follow God's calling in their lives," Mother Provincial Sister Loraine Marie Maguire said in a release, as reported by The Denver Post.