The Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Catholic nuns who care for the elderly, are continuing their legal battle over Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate, which required them to provide abortion and contraceptives in their health care plans.
Although the Little Sisters have won Supreme Court victories twice in the past 14 years of fighting the ACA, the issue has continued to evolve.
During President Donald Trump’s first presidential term, he ordered that any nongovernment organization with religious or moral objections shouldn’t be required to provide contraceptive or abortion coverage to employees or students.
However, in August, a federal district court sided with Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which had amended their state laws to temporarily vacate federal religious liberty exceptions. This new ruling would require the Little Sisters to provide contraceptives or pay tens of millions in fines.
The Little Sisters asked the appeals court to reverse the decision last Friday.
In a press release, the Little Sisters’ lead attorney, Mark Rienzi, said, “The fourteen-year legal crusade against the Little Sisters has been needless, grotesque, and un-American.”
He continued, “The States have no business trying to take away the Little Sisters’ federal civil rights. The Third Circuit should toss the States’ lawsuit into the dustbin of history and uphold the protection the Little Sisters already won at the Supreme Court ... twice.”
Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters added, “For nearly 200 years, our order has welcomed the elderly poor and dying into our homes as we would welcome Christ Himself. It is painful that we have spent more than a decade defending that mission in court. We simply want to continue our work without being forced to violate our faith, and we pray Pennsylvania and New Jersey will end this needless harassment.”
Oral argument in the case is expected in early 2026.