Paul, Weiss Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Opposition to Expanded Exemptions from the ACA’s Birth Control Coverage Benefit

Paul, Weiss filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Health Law Program, National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, and Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need in the consolidated cases of The Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter & Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Trump v. Pennsylvania.

The amicus brief supports the challenge by Pennsylvania and New Jersey to rules promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would allow employers and universities to deny their employees and students insurance coverage for no-copay contraception if those entities claim “sincerely held” religious or moral objections. In 2019, the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania enjoined the rules nationwide on the ground that the challenger states were likely to prevail on the merits of their Administrative Procedure Act claims, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed. The Supreme Court agreed to review the case during last October’s term.

Our amicus brief focused on refuting misguided claims made by petitioners and several amici that individuals who are no longer able to obtain no-copay contraceptive coverage through their employers’ or universities’ health insurance plans could still access contraceptive services without cost sharing through federal safety-net programs such as Medicaid and Title X.

This is the sixth amicus brief Paul, Weiss has filed over the past two years in trial and appellate courts across the country on behalf of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Health Law Program, and National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association addressing these issues as the battle made its way to the Supreme Court.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partner Claudia Hammerman and associates Crystal Johnson Geise, Melina Meneguin Layerenza, Jessica Fuhrman and Daniela Lorenzo. Litigation associates Megan Gao, Kelsey Sweeney, and Catherine Weiss also provided critical assistance with the filing.

» Read the amicus brief here