(Washington, D.C.) – The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) has filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, who have asked the Supreme Court to take up their case against the Administration’s contraception “accommodation.” The petitioners argue that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has overstepped its bounds and is violating the petitioners’ religious freedom.

IWF’s brief, written by University of Missouri law professor (and former clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts) Erin M. Hawley, stresses the mandate’s consequences for women’s health and employment freedom.

The IWF, an organization that supports limited government, free markets, and individual responsibility, opposes ObamaCare coverage mandates, both for individuals and for employers. The IWF’s statement of interest argues that the HHS mandate works contrary to women’s interests and will restrict women’s flexibility to customize their compensation and benefits.

Hadley Heath Manning, Director of Health Policy for the IWF, explained:

IWF believes in maximum opportunity and flexibility for all women, and we understand that mandates are the opposite of flexibility.  The contraception mandate overlooks the fact that women and their families benefit from a flexible work environment that allows them to make choices based on their preferences. 

Women may choose to prioritize a higher salary, or the ability to work from home, over more generous contraceptive coverage. Women of faith may prefer to work for a faith-based organization, like the Little Sisters of the Poor, that refuses to facilitate practices with which they have a profound moral disagreement. 

As with the Hobby Lobby case, this case is about more than contraception. It is about the principles of liberty that animate our Constitution. It is about empowering women to choose the healthcare and salary options that best fit their needs. And it is about empowering charitable employers, many lead by women, to follow their deeply held religious convictions—regardless of the form of their charitable entity. Women do not check their religious liberty rights at the office door.

The IWF has been monitoring and keeping the public informed about constitutional challenges to ObamaCare since the law’s passage, and in October 2010 launched a Web site to track the more than 100 cases filed against various aspects of ObamaCare. This project can be found online at http://healthcarelawsuits.org. In 2014, the IWF filed an Amicus Curiae brief in the similar Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

To read the IWF's Little Sisters of the Poor amicus brief, click here.

Follow these links to read the IWF’s fact sheet and policy brief about the HHS mandate.

 

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Independent Women's Forum works to improve the lives of Americans by increasing the number of women who value free-markets and personal liberty. 

 

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