Both the majority opinion, drafted by Justice Samuel Alito, and a concurring opinion, penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy, suggest that an accommodation already offered to some religious nonprofits could be extended to closely held firms.
The arrangement allows a third party or “middleman” such as an insurance company to cover the contraception coverage, at no expense to the employer, for female employees seeking it.
“That accommodation equally furthers the government’s interest but does not impinge on the plaintiffs’ religious beliefs,” Kennedy wrote.
The accommodation itself is the subject of a separate legal fight that some view as destined for the Supreme Court. In that case, the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, a Colorado-based order of nuns, argues that the accommodation is unconstitutional.
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