Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/13pdf/13a1284_ap6c.pdf
Page Number: 4

4 

WHEATON COLLEGE v. BURWELL 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

That  action  evinces  disregard  for  even  the  newest  of  this 
Court’s  precedents  and  undermines  confidence  in  this 
institution. 

Even  if  one  accepts  Wheaton’s  view  that  the  self-
certification  procedure  violates  RFRA,  that  would  not 
justify  the  Court’s  action  today.  The  Court  grants
Wheaton a form of relief as rare as it is extreme: an inter-
locutory  injunction  under  the  All  Writs  Act,  28  U. S. C.
§1651,  blocking  the  operation  of  a  duly  enacted  law  and 
regulations,  in  a  case  in  which  the  courts  below  have  not 
yet adjudicated the merits of the applicant’s claims and in 
which  those  courts  have  declined  requests  for  similar
injunctive  relief. 
Injunctions  of  this  nature  are  proper 
only  where  “the  legal  rights  at  issue  are  indisputably 
clear.”  Turner  Broadcasting  System,  Inc.  v.  FCC,  507 
U. S.  1301,  1303  (1993)  (Rehnquist,  C.  J.,  in  chambers) 
(internal  quotation  marks  omitted).    Yet  the  Court  today
orders  this  extraordinary  relief  even  though  no  one  could 
credibly  claim  Wheaton’s  right  to  relief  is  indisputably
clear. 

The  sincerity  of  Wheaton’s  deeply  held  religious  beliefs
is beyond refute.  But as a legal matter, Wheaton’s appli-
cation  comes  nowhere  near  the  high  bar  necessary  to
warrant  an  emergency  injunction  from  this  Court.    For 
that reason, I respectfully dissent. 

I 

A 

The  Affordable  Care  Act  requires  certain  employer
group health insurance plans to cover a number of preven-
tative-health services without cost sharing.  These services 
include “[a]ll Food and Drug Administration . . . approved 
contraceptive  methods,  sterilization  procedures,  and  pa-
tient  education  and  counseling  for  all  women  with  repro-
ductive  capacity,  as  prescribed  by  a  provider.”    77  Fed. 
Reg.  8725  (2012)  (brackets  and  internal  quotation  marks