Supreme Court to Review Contraception Provisions in Obamacare

As if the contested law known as Obamacare didn’t have enough assailants already, the United States Supreme Court has added another level of complication by deciding Tuesday to take another look at the sections in the Affordable Care Act dealing with contraception coverage.

More specifically, the merry band of nine justices at SCOTUS will consider whether certain employers, particularly those whose organizations are religious in origin or orientation, are required to cover, without co-pay, contraception and other similar services for their workers.

But on another level, as CNN pointed out Tuesday, the issue touches on a broader theme about the rights of corporations and organizations vis-a-vis those of individuals — and whether those two categories are starting to merge all the more:

Oral arguments will likely be held in March with a ruling by late June.

Nearly 100 pending lawsuits have been filed in federal court challenging the birth control coverage benefits in the “Obamacare” law championed by President Barack Obama.

The high court two years ago narrowly upheld the key funding provision of the health care law, ruling most Americans would be required to purchase insurance or pay a financial penalty– the so-called “individual mandate.”

The constitutional debate now shifts to the separate employer mandates and whether corporations and religious institutions themselves enjoy the same First Amendment rights as individuals.

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–Posted by Kasia Anderson