By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of this series) The plaintiffs in Zubik v. Burwell and its siblings seek to block their students and employees from receiving contraceptive coverage from third-party insurance companies and plan administrators. Even though the plaintiffs need neither provide nor pay…
By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 6 of this series) Despite birth control’s considerable benefits, the challengers in Zubik v. Burwell argue that the government lacks a compelling interest in applying the contraceptive accommodation to religious objectors. No matter how important it is to ensure that women have access…
By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, and Part 6 of this series.) If the Supreme Court were to conclude that the plantiffs in Zubik v. Burwell plaintiffs have established a substantial burden on religious exercise, the case is not over. Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the government may enforce…
By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of this series) Pay attention to the Supreme Court’s upcoming contraceptive-coverage cases and you’ll hear horror stories from religious-right groups about an “abortion-pill mandate” (here’s ADF and ACLJ). These groups know that contraception is popular and that, to most people, campaigns to block…
By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of this series) Yesterday, I evaluated the unprecedented arguments, by the plaintiffs in Zubik v. Burwell and its companion cases, that the process for seeking a religious exemption from the contraceptive-coverage regulations itself burdened the objectors’ religious exericse. Today, I move to…
By Gregory M. Lipper (Read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of this series) Birth control is back at the high court. On March 23, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Zubik v. Burwell and its six companion cases. Despite what you may have heard, religious objectors—whether they are nuns…
By Gregory M. Lipper On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, a constitutional challenge to a pair of Texas restrictions on abortion providers. The first provision requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges from a hospital no more than 30 miles from their clinic; for a…
By Gregory M. Lipper A new Vox survey reveals that a majority of registered voters underestimate the rate of abortion, and that the abortion rate is most likely to be understimated by men, college graduates, and those with higher salaries: More educated and higher-income Americans are especially likely to believe that abortion is rare. For…
By Timo Minssen Dear readers and colleagues, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful year 2016. Reaching the end of 2015, I cannot stop thinking about the year that has passed. Being a native German, living in Sweden and commuting every week over the bridge to Copenhagen in Denmark…
By Gregory M. Lipper “Sex After 50 at the Supreme Court” is the title of today’s Turkey Day column by the peerless Linda Greenhouse. She takes a saucy look at upcoming Supreme Court cases on contraception and abortion and the role of religion in motivating restrictions on reproductive rights and health. Here’s a taste: But…
