New Rules on Religious Objections to Birth Control

The Obama administration has unveiled new rules aiming to address religious objections by to providing birth control to female employees as required by the Act.

The change allows some to opt out providing birth control as preventive at no to workers. The employees would still receive the services directly from the ’s company. Neither the employees nor the company will be charged.

Companies claiming a religious objection to providing birth control have to be privately held (that is, not listed a stock exchange), and by five or fewer individuals; a family can count as a single individual. The company’s board directors must adopt a resolution objecting to covering some or all contraception.

church are exempt from the ’s requirement to provide birth control. Religious nonprofit organizations and private companies owned by individuals with strong religious objections to contraception have sought similar exemptions.

In the 2014 ‘Hobby Lobby’ case, the Supreme court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows some private companies to decline to provide th coverage.