White House ‘confident’ Supreme Court will uphold birth control mandate

The White House said Tuesday it was “confident” the Supreme Court would uphold a provision of ObamaCare requiring businesses to offer health insurance that includes free contraception after the high court announced it would hear a legal challenge of the provision.

“Our policy is designed to ensure that health care decisions are made between a woman and her doctor. The president believes that no one, including the government or for-profit corporations, should be able to dictate those decisions to women,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney in a statement.

{mosads}Some business owners have argued that the law violates their constitutional right to religious freedom because it forces them to purchase coverage for birth control despite their religious objection to it. Earlier this year, Christian-owned craft chain Hobby Lobby won a victory in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals after challenging the requirement. 

But the administration has argued that it took steps through regulation to ensure churches and other religious institutions would not be forced to provide contraception coverage.

“These steps protect both women’s health and religious beliefs, and seek to ensure that women and families — not their bosses or corporate CEOs — can make personal health decisions based on their needs and their budgets,” Carney said.  

The Supreme Court review will be the first legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act heard by the high court since the 5-4 decision 17 months ago upholding the individual mandate as constitutional.