SUPREME COURT-BIRTH CONTROL
Justices: Can’t make some employers cover contraception
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says some corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the health care law’s birth control mandate.
The justices’ 5-4 decision Monday means the Obama administration must search for a different way to provide free contraception to women who are covered under objecting companies’ health insurance plans.
The court stressed that its ruling applies only to corporations, like the Hobby Lobby arts and crafts chain, which are under the control of just a few people in which there is no essential difference between the business and its owners.
In his majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said the government could simply pay for pregnancy prevention itself. Or it could arrange for insurance companies or third-party administrators to take over the responsibility of paying for the birth control.
Critics of the decision noted that the ruling was made by five male justices, with all three women on the court dissenting.
Sound:
227-v-35-(Jerry Bodlander, AP correspondent)–Congressional Republicans are hailing the Supreme Court’s decision while Democrats are unhappy with it. AP correspondent Jerry Bodlander reports. (30 Jun 2014)
< 206-a-11-(Lezli Wetzold, Hobby Lobby shopper, in AP interview)-“I’m, I’m impressed”-Hobby Lobby shopper Lezli Wetzold says she likes to shop at businesses whose owners are Christians. (30 Jun 2014) < 207-a-06-(Janice Vickery, Hobby Lobby shopper, in AP interview)-“with their philosophy”-Hobby Lobby shopper Janice Vickery says she shares the religious beliefs of Hobby Lobby’s owners. (30 Jun 2014) < 199-a-05-(Mallory Quigley, communications director for the Susan B. Anthony List, with reporters)-“right decision today”-Mallory Quigley, communications director for the Susan B. Anthony List, says business owners shouldn’t be forced to violate their religious beliefs. (30 Jun 2014) < 182-w-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, and Professor Helen Alvare, founder of Women Speak for Themselves)–Women’s groups are responding to the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of some business owners to opt out of the health care law’s birth control mandate. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (30 Jun 2014) < 176-a-17-(Anthony Verdugo, executive director, Christian Family Coalition of Florida, in AP interview)-“right to interfere”-Anthony Verdugo, who heads the Christian Family Coalition in Florida, says he’s thrilled with Supreme Court ruling about the religious rights of some corporations. (30 Jun 2014) < 179-a-05-(Marcia (MAHR’-shah) Greenberger, co-president, National Women’s Law Center, in teleconference)-“women to swallow”-Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, says the Hobby Lobby ruling is hard to take. (30 Jun 2014) < 178-a-06-(Anthony Verdugo, executive director, Christian Family Coalition of Florida, in AP interview)-“violates their conscience”-Anthony Verdugo, who heads the Christian Family Coalition in Florida, says many business owners will have the ability to operate their business in accordance with their religious beliefs. (30 Jun 2014) < 177-a-12-(Anthony Verdugo, executive director, Christian Family Coalition of Florida, in AP interview)-“right infringed upon”-Anthony Verdugo, who heads the Christian Family Coalition in Florida, says the Hobby Lobby ruling is a victory for religious freedom. (30 Jun 2014) < 181-a-07-(Louise Melling, ACLU deputy legal director, in teleconference)-“views on others”-Louise Melling, the ACLU’s deputy legal director, says business owners shouldn’t have a say in their employees’ birth control. (30 Jun 2014) < 180-a-12-(Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in teleconference)-“signed today’s dissent”-Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, says the Hobby Lobby decision was made by five male justices. (30 Jun 2014) < OBAMA-BIRTH CONTROL White House: Court ruling risks women’s health WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says women’s health will be jeopardized by a Supreme Court decision that allows some corporations with religious objections to opt out of a requirement that they cover contraceptives. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that women should make personal health decisions for themselves. Earnest said the White House is looking into how many women could be affected by the decision. He said Congress should take action to assist women affected by the decision. The contraceptive coverage requirement is contained in Obama’s new health care law. The court’s 5-4 decision means the Obama administration must find alternative ways of providing free contraception to women who are covered under objecting companies’ health insurance plans. Sound: 197-w-36-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent, with Josh Earnest, White House press secretary)–The White House says women’s health will be jeopardized by today’s Supreme Court’s decision that lets some corporations opt out of the mandate to cover birth control. AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports. (30 Jun 2014) < 175-a-09-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, in daily briefing)-“federally mandated benefits”-White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says the administration disagrees with the high court’s ruling. (30 Jun 2014) < 174-a-07-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, in daily briefing)-“as everyone else”-White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says lawmakers need to find a way to make sure women whose employers object to the contraceptive coverage can get that coverage. (30 Jun 2014) < 173-a-12-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, in daily briefing)-“by these companies”-White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says women will be hurt by the high court’s ruling. (30 Jun 2014) < CATHOLIC BROADCASTER-CONTRACEPTION Contraceptive mandate halted for Ala. broadcaster ATLANTA (AP) — Citing Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, a federal appeals court has temporarily barred the federal government from forcing a Catholic broadcasting network in Alabama to comply with a law requiring them to cover contraceptives for women. Eternal Word Television Network, which has studios in a Birmingham suburb, is appealing a federal judge’s order from last week dismissing its lawsuit, which maintained that requiring employers to include contraception in their health care coverage is unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta issued an order Monday barring enforcement of the requirement pending the outcome of the network’s appeal. In granting an injunction, the 11th Circuit cited the U.S. Supreme Court opinion Monday that says some corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the new health law requirement. SUPREME COURT-CROSS DISPUTE High court stays out of Mt. Soledad cross dispute WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the dispute over a war memorial cross in San Diego before a federal appeals court has its say. Supporters of the 43-foot monument atop Mount Soledad wanted to bypass the appeals court and go straight to the Supreme Court because the legal fight has been going on for 25 years. The Mt. Soledad Memorial Association said the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been hostile to the cross in earlier rulings. The Obama administration disagrees with a lower court order that the cross be removed, but said the case should go to the appeals court first. The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting the association’s appeal. SUPREME COURT-GAY THERAPY BAN Court rejects challenge to law banning gay therapy WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to California’s law that bars mental counseling aimed at turning gay minors straight. The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that said the state’s ban on so-called conversion therapy for minors doesn’t violate the free speech rights of licensed counselors and patients seeking treatment. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that California lawmakers properly showed that efforts to change sexual orientation were outside the scientific mainstream and have been rejected for good reason. Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal aid group, had challenged the law along with other supporters of the therapy. They argue that lawmakers have no scientific proof that the therapy does harm. UUA-FOSSIL FUELS Unitarian Universalists divest from fossil fuels PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Unitarian Universalist congregations plan to divest their $170 million endowment from fossil fuel companies because of concerns about climate change. Representatives from the U.S. congregations approved a resolution to do so on Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island, at the church’s annual General Assembly meeting. More than 300 of the denomination’s 1,000 congregations pledged to divest their stock and bond holdings from fossil fuel companies. The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations has five years to complete the divestment. Three percent of its portfolio is in fossil fuels. The association said it acted in response to a climate change organization, 350.org, calling on churches, nonprofits and schools to join the divestment campaign. SEX ASSAULT CHARGE-CHURCH No public church for man charged with sex assault LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a man charged with sexually assaulting a child cannot publicly attend church, but can worship privately with a pastor. Mark Thurber was arrested last week by police in Meredith, New Hampshire. He’s accused of having sex with a girl under age 13 between January 2007 and December 2010. The Citizen newspaper reports that Judge James Carroll set the 42-year-old Thurber’s bail at $50,000 personal recognizance and $5,000 cash on Friday and imposed conditions during the bail hearing. Thurber’s attorney, John Bresaw, said he wanted to object on constitutional grounds to restrictions placed on Thurber’s religious freedom and travel. Judge Carroll said Thurber’s bail conditions did not violate his First Amendment rights to religious freedom, as Thurber’s right to practice his faith was preserved, but restricted to protect the public. ISRAEL-SABBATH Israeli official closes Tel Aviv shops on Sabbath JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s interior minister says he will no longer permit Tel Aviv supermarkets to stay open on the Jewish sabbath, drawing criticism from liberal Israelis who see the regulation as religious coercion against secular society. Minister Gideon Saar says he is disqualifying parts of the city’s municipal bylaws that allow supermarkets to remain open from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Saar told Army Radio Monday that he seeks to prevent commercial interests from changing the character of Israel’s weekly day of rest. Stores are closed in most other Israeli cities because Jewish religious law prohibits work on the Sabbath. Tel Aviv is seen by Israelis as a bastion of secular culture. Veteran Israeli actress Gila Almagor told Army Radio that religious coercion is spreading “like cancer.” VATICAN-SPANISH ROYALS Spain’s new king and queen invite pope to visit VATICAN CITY (AP) — Spain’s new king and queen have met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on their first foreign trip as monarchs, and they invited the pope to visit Spain. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, wearing white as is standard protocol for a queen visiting the pope, were greeted by Francis in the papal library Monday. They chatted for about 40 minutes in private. As they left, Felipe invited Francis to visit and bent down to kiss the pope’s ring, while Letizia curtsied. A Vatican statement noted that it was the monarchs’ first foreign visit and said the cordial talks focused on church-state cooperation in Spain and unspecified global conflicts. Francis had met Felipe’s parents, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, on several occasions. The last time was during the April 27 canonizations of his papal predecessors, Saints John Paul II and John XXIII. Juan Carlos abdicated last month. VATICAN-OBIT-CORCUERA Superior who led Legion through abuse turmoil dies VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Rev. Alvaro Corcuera, who led the Legion of Christ religious order through the turmoil surrounding revelations that its founder was a pedophile and fraud, has died. He was 56. The Legion said Corcuera, who stepped down as superior in 2012 because of a brain tumor, died Monday in Mexico City. Corcuera took over as superior in 2005, a year after the Vatican opened a secret sex abuse investigation into the Legion’s founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel (mars-YAHL’ mahs-YEL’). Even though the Vatican found Maciel guilty in 2006 and Legion officials opened their own internal investigation, Corcuera and the rest of the Legion leadership continued to publicly defend him as a saint until admitting to his double life in 2009. Corcuera then led the Legion through three years of Vatican receivership. PASTOR-SLAIN WIVES Ex-pastor pleads no-contest to killing first wife LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — A former Pennsylvania pastor serving a life sentence in the fatal bludgeoning of his second wife has entered a no-contest plea to charges that he killed his first wife in 1999. Arthur “A.B.” Schirmer pleaded no contest to third-degree murder Monday in Lebanon County Court. The 66-year-old ex-Methodist clergyman had long claimed he was out for a run when he returned home to find Jewel Schirmer’s body in a pool of blood at the bottom of the basement steps. Authorities reopened the case after Schirmer was charged in Monroe County with using a crowbar to kill his second wife, Betty, in 2008. Schirmer was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life without parole. He’s facing a maximum of 40 years for Jewel Schirmer’s death. CUBA-CATHOLIC MAGAZINE Critical forum may end with Cuban magazine changes HAVANA (AP) — A magazine launched as a bulletin for Roman Catholic lay people became an unusually open and critical forum for debate in Communist-run Cuba, where the state has controlled all media for five decades. Now, the sudden departure of the two longtime editors of Espacio Laical may have endangered that status just as Cuba’s Catholic church and the Communist government embark on major changes. Some articles suggested Cuba should aspire to freedom of expression, political association and private economic rights. Analysts say that surely set off alarms within the Catholic community, which is divided over how much the church should involve itself in politics. It also may have upset some government officials, who say Raul Castro’s reforms do not contemplate changing Cuba’s single-party system.
