Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-431_5i36.pdf
Page Number: 77.0

Cite as:  591 U. S. ____ (2020) 

21 

GINSBURG, J., dissenting 

Second,  the  Little  Sisters  assert  that  “tak[ing]  affirma-
tive steps to execute paperwork . . . necessary for the provi-
sion  of  ‘seamless’  contraceptive  coverage  to  their  employ-
ees” implicates them in providing contraceptive services to
women in violation of their religious beliefs.  Little Sisters 
Reply Brief 7.  At the same time, however, they have been 
adamant that they do not oppose merely “register[ing] their
objections”  to  the  contraceptive-coverage  requirement. 
Ibid.  See also Tr. of Oral Arg. 29, 42–43 (Little Sisters have 
“no objection to objecting”); ante, at 8 (ALITO, J., concurring)
(Little Sisters’ “concern was not with notifying the Govern-
ment that they wished to be exempted from complying with 
the mandate per se”).  These statements, taken together, re-
veal  that  the  Little  Sisters  do  not  object  to what  the  self-
certification  accommodation  asks  of  them,  namely,  attest-
ing to their religious objection to contraception.  See supra, 
at 6.  They object, instead, to the particular use insurance 
issuers  make  of  that  attestation.    See  supra,  at  18–19.26 
But that use originated from the ACA and its once-imple-
menting  regulation,  not  from  religious  employers’  self- 
certification or alternative notice. 

* 

* 
The blanket exemption for religious and moral objectors
to contraception formulated by the IRS, EBSA, and CMS is
inconsistent with the text of, and Congress’ intent for, both
the ACA and RFRA.  Neither law authorizes it.27  The orig-

* 

—————— 

26 JUSTICE ALITO asserts that the Little Sisters’ “situation [is] the same 
as  that  of  the  conscientious  objector  in  Thomas  [v.  Review  Bd.  of  Ind. 
Employment Security Div., 450 U. S. 707, 715 (1981)].”  Ante, at 9–10.  I 
disagree.  In  Thomas,  a  Jehovah’s  Witness  objected  to  “work[ing]  on
weapons,” 450 U. S., at 710, which is what his employer required of him. 
As above stated, however, the Little Sisters have no objection to object-
ing, the only other action the self-certification accommodation requires 
of them. 

27 Given this conclusion, I need not address whether the exemption is