SCOTUS revives Christian university's challenge to healthcare reform

Liberty University claims the Affordable Care Act violates its religious freedom

Published November 26, 2012 9:30PM (EST)

The Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to review a new challenge to Obamacare, a suit brought by the Jerry Falwell-founded Liberty University on the grounds that the mandate violates the school's religious freedom.

The court ordered the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to reevaluate the case on the merits, after it had initially rejected Liberty's lawsuit on technical grounds.

From the Washington Post:

Liberty University doesn’t want to challenge the individual mandate; we already know what the Supreme Court thinks about that. But it does want are answers on two other provisions that it challenged: the mandate that employers provide insurance coverage and the requirement that contraceptives be covered. ”Petitioners’ remaining claims should be subject to adjudication by the lower courts,” Liberty University’s lawyers wrote in a July 2012 petition for re-hearing.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court saying that it would not "oppose further proceedings in the court of appeals" over the law.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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Affordable Care Act Barack Obama Birth Control Health Care Liberty University Scotus Supreme Court