By Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court expanded exemptions for religious employers from health-care regulations and antidiscrimination laws Wednesday, extending a line of decisions that have elevated the rights of religious exercise and the role of sectarian institutions in American society.
In one case, the court ruled that the Trump administration had the legal power to exempt employers that raise religious or moral objections to Affordable Care Act regulations requiring that health-insurance plans cover contraceptives, stripping the benefit from as many as 125,000 women employees. In the other, the court found that religious schools were immune from age and disability discrimination claims filed by lay teachers, saying courts shouldn’t interfere with how schools select teachers who educate students about the faith.
Both decisions came by 7-2 votes, with only the court’s most liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, in dissent. The rulings follow last week’s 5-4 decision requiring a state to give religious schools the same benefit it gives other private schools in a tax-credit program, despite a state constitutional provision barring public support for sectarian institutions.
Together, the latest religion rulings reflect a yearslong drive by the court’s conservative majority, on occasion joined by more liberal justices, toward a legal framework that grants religious institutions more freedom from public policies they oppose and more access to public benefits.
“These decisions continue the Roberts Court’s campaign to ensure that religious actors are maximally protected,” said Cornell University law professor Nelson Tebbe.
The trend, Mr. Tebbe said, is clear: The court is strengthening the Constitution’s protections for the free exercise of religion while weakening a separate constitutional clause that prohibits government establishment of religion.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority decision approving Trump administration exceptions to the regulation requiring that employer-provided health-insurance plans cover birth control with no out-of-pocket costs. While churches already were exempt, there have been years of legal battles over whether other employers, including those with religious affiliations, must comply. The case marked the third time the high court has grappled with the issue. Read more via Wall St Journal