Thursday, February 13, 2014

7th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Notre Dame's Contraceptive Mandate Accommodation Challenge

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments (audio of full arguments) yesterday in University of Notre Dame v. Sebelius.  In the case, an Indiana federal district court rejected Notre Dame's claim that its rights under RFRA and the 1st Amendment are infringed by applying the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate accommodation to its self-insured employee plan and its health insurance policies offered to students.  (See prior posting.) The exchanges in yesterday's arguments between Notre Dame's counsel Matthew Kairis and Judge Richard Posner were particularly contentious. (Note-- there is no sound for the first 2:30 minutes of the audio.) Chicago Tribune reports on the oral arguments.  [Thanks to Stephen Blakeman for the lead.]