For the second time, a federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a U.S. District Court judge's ruling that denied the University of Notre Dame's request for temporary relief from complying with the government's mechanism to cover birth control for the university's students and employees.
Notre Dame was challenging a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires contraceptive coverage for people covered by the university's health plan, yet allows the university to avoid paying for the coverage by signing an exemption form that shifts the cost to the government through a third party.
In Notre Dame's case, the third party would be Meritain Health Inc., which the university contracts to administer its self-funded insurance coverage.
But in lawsuits against the government, Notre Dame and other religious nonprofits have argued that the act of signing the form would still entangle them in a process they find morally objectionable.
A panel of three judges from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Notre Dame's previous appeal after Judge Philip Simon denied the university's request for an injunction against having to comply with the mandate while its lawsuit is pending.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court in March sent the case back to the 7th Circuit, ordering the appeals court to reconsider it in light of the high court's decision in favor of family-owned corporations, such as Hobby Lobby, that objected to the contraceptive mandate.
On Tuesday, the appeals court again voted 2-1 to reject Notre Dame's challenge.