Federal Court Rejects Secular Employer’s Challenge to ACA’s Contraceptive Mandate

A secular, for-profit company and its sole owner cannot prevail on claims that the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services mandate violates their religious and constitutional rights, a federal district court ruled Sept. 28 in granting the Obama administration’s motion to dismiss the complaint (O’Brien v. HHS, E.D. Mo., 4:12-cv-00476-CEJ, 9/28/12).

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed allegations that regulations implementing the so-called contraceptive mandate violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the First Amendment’s Free Exercise, Establishment, and Freedom of Speech clauses.

In a decision by Judge Carol E. Jackson, the ...