The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has turned back a challenge brought by several Texas religious organizations that oppose offering insurance contraceptive coverage to their employees, concluding that the plaintiffs have no right to challenge the conduct of third parties.
The recent decision also found that U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial 2014 Hobby Lobby decision was of “no help” to the plaintiffs, which included East Texas Baptist University and the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, among others. That 5-4 high court decision held that corporations opposed to offering contraceptive coverage to their employees are exempt under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA].
