Judge Wendy Beetlestone.

A Catholic group opposed to birth control can't intervene in the state's lawsuit challenging the administration's authority to exempt organizations from providing contraceptive services to women.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion by the Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul, composed of nuns, to intervene in the state of Pennsylvania's lawsuit. The state is challenging the administration's interpretation of the Affordable Care Act as broadly exempting organizations from providing contraceptive care if doing so is against their morals or religious beliefs.

Little Sisters applied for religious exemption from the ACA's contraceptive mandate during the Obama administration. The exemption, granted only under a strict set of circumstances, was denied.

The group's 2013 lawsuit, asserting that requiring Little Sisters to provide contraceptive care violated its religious freedom, went up to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the justices did not decide the issue and sent it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit for “an opportunity to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners' religious exercise while at the same time ensuring that women covered by petitioners' health plans 'receive full and equal health coverage,' including contraceptive coverage,” while also protecting Little Sisters from any governmental sanctions. The Tenth Circuit stayed the case last year.

Little Sisters then sought to support President Donald Trump's interim final rules regarding birth control in its attempt to intervene. But Beetlestone said Little Sisters had no legal interest in the litigation.

“Since Little Sisters are already the beneficiaries of a Supreme Court order preventing the government from imposing fines on it for failure to comply with the contraceptive mandate or the accommodation process and there is no suggestion that the commonwealth through this lawsuit directly seeks to disturb that holding, resolution of this case will not impact Little Sisters' existing exemption from the contraceptive mandate,” Beetlestone wrote in her opinion.

Little Sisters argued that because the government's decision to expand exemptions for religious groups was prompted by the group's Supreme Court case and cited Trump, who said the contraceptive mandate was an “attack against the Little Sisters of the Poor,” it should be allowed to intervene.

“However, the only mention of Little Sisters in the regulations themselves is the statement that the agencies wanted to 'resolve the pending litigation and prevent future litigation from similar plaintiffs,'” Beetlestone said. “Therefore, Little Sisters' interest in the IFRs is no more than a preferred outcome. As Little Sisters do not have a significantly protectable interest in the present lawsuit, intervention as of right now is not appropriate.”

Little Sisters is represented by Lori H. Windham of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

“Today's decision bars the courthouse door to the Little Sisters of the Poor. So now Josh Shapiro and Donald Trump will fight over whether these brave women can continue their ministry to the elderly poor, while the women themselves have to sit on the sidelines? It is terribly wrong for the court to silence the nuns in this way, and it draws into question whether this can even be a fair proceeding if the continue to be excluded. We just filed an appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to try and get this wrong decision overturned,” Windham said in a Dec. 8 statement.

Jonathan Goldman of the state Attorney General's Office represented Pennsylvania. He declined to comment.

Judge Wendy Beetlestone. Wendy Beetlestone

A Catholic group opposed to birth control can't intervene in the state's lawsuit challenging the administration's authority to exempt organizations from providing contraceptive services to women.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion by the Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul, composed of nuns, to intervene in the state of Pennsylvania's lawsuit. The state is challenging the administration's interpretation of the Affordable Care Act as broadly exempting organizations from providing contraceptive care if doing so is against their morals or religious beliefs.

Little Sisters applied for religious exemption from the ACA's contraceptive mandate during the Obama administration. The exemption, granted only under a strict set of circumstances, was denied.

The group's 2013 lawsuit, asserting that requiring Little Sisters to provide contraceptive care violated its religious freedom, went up to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the justices did not decide the issue and sent it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit for “an opportunity to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners' religious exercise while at the same time ensuring that women covered by petitioners' health plans 'receive full and equal health coverage,' including contraceptive coverage,” while also protecting Little Sisters from any governmental sanctions. The Tenth Circuit stayed the case last year.

Little Sisters then sought to support President Donald Trump's interim final rules regarding birth control in its attempt to intervene. But Beetlestone said Little Sisters had no legal interest in the litigation.

“Since Little Sisters are already the beneficiaries of a Supreme Court order preventing the government from imposing fines on it for failure to comply with the contraceptive mandate or the accommodation process and there is no suggestion that the commonwealth through this lawsuit directly seeks to disturb that holding, resolution of this case will not impact Little Sisters' existing exemption from the contraceptive mandate,” Beetlestone wrote in her opinion.

Little Sisters argued that because the government's decision to expand exemptions for religious groups was prompted by the group's Supreme Court case and cited Trump, who said the contraceptive mandate was an “attack against the Little Sisters of the Poor,” it should be allowed to intervene.

“However, the only mention of Little Sisters in the regulations themselves is the statement that the agencies wanted to 'resolve the pending litigation and prevent future litigation from similar plaintiffs,'” Beetlestone said. “Therefore, Little Sisters' interest in the IFRs is no more than a preferred outcome. As Little Sisters do not have a significantly protectable interest in the present lawsuit, intervention as of right now is not appropriate.”

Little Sisters is represented by Lori H. Windham of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

“Today's decision bars the courthouse door to the Little Sisters of the Poor. So now Josh Shapiro and Donald Trump will fight over whether these brave women can continue their ministry to the elderly poor, while the women themselves have to sit on the sidelines? It is terribly wrong for the court to silence the nuns in this way, and it draws into question whether this can even be a fair proceeding if the continue to be excluded. We just filed an appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to try and get this wrong decision overturned,” Windham said in a Dec. 8 statement.

Jonathan Goldman of the state Attorney General's Office represented Pennsylvania. He declined to comment.