Last month, Notre Dame Law School’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic filed an amicus brief in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. President United States of America, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to uphold federal rules offering accommodations for religious organizations that cannot participate in providing contraceptive services. The Clinic’s brief demonstrates that federal agencies are expected—and should be encouraged—to exercise their regulatory powers in ways that align with the demands of federal laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Years of litigation and several trips to the Supreme Court have made clear that the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate violates the federal rights of many religious organizations. Federal agencies eventually adopted new rules to accommodate those beliefs. But some states challenged these rules, and a federal court in Pennsylvania blocked this important religious exemption, finding that the agencies acted arbitrarily by adopting it. The case is now on appeal before the Third Circuit.
The Clinic filed its brief in support of the federal government and the Little Sisters of the Poor, who had intervened in the case to defend the religious accommodations. The brief argues that federal law plainly allows agencies to take a cautious approach to regulating in the shadow of federally protected rights, including religious exercise. It contends that the lower court’s decision subverts basic principles about the rule of law—and the priority of federal rights—in our constitutional system by demanding that agencies regulate aggressively even when such actions result in the violation of federal law.
“For the first time after years of failed attempts, the government has found a way to fully protect the federal rights of religious organizations who object to the contraceptive mandate,” said Professor John Meiser, faculty director of the Religious Liberty Clinic. “The lower court’s suggestion that the agencies cannot allow such a religious exemption effectively forces them to violate RFRA. That cannot be right.”
Notre Dame Law School students Cameron Grinnell, Catherine Kolesar, and Jennifer Merkley contributed to the brief alongside Professors John Meiser and Meredith Kessler.
“It is deeply satisfying to see the Clinic’s amicus brief complete, as it contributes to the realization of meaningful advances in service of those religious sisters who have dedicated their lives to the service of God and neighbor,” said Grinnell.
“It is so rewarding to know that the brief we wrote could help the Little Sisters, and others like them, get the religious exemptions they need to freely practice their faith,” added Kolesar.
About the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic
The Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic is a teaching law practice that educates, forms, and prepares Notre Dame law students to become the rising generation of religious liberty leaders by training students in the practice of the law as they defend religious freedom for all people.
Under the guidance of Law School faculty and staff, students work on a broad variety of legal matters to promote religious freedom on behalf of individuals and organizations of all beliefs—both domestically and abroad. The Clinic represents clients from all faith traditions to promote not only the freedom for people to hold religious beliefs but also their fundamental right to express those beliefs and to live according to them. Learn more about the work of the Clinic here.