Solicitor General Backs College’s Effort to Bring HHS Case before Supreme Court

In a letter filed on Wednesday, September 30, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Solicitor General of the United States, endorsed Thomas Aquinas College’s effort to bring its challenge of the HHS Mandate before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although the government had previously argued that the Court should not hear the case, Mr. Verrilli reversed course, noting that two recent Eighth Circuit rulings found that the Mandate — which would compel Catholic religious institutions to facilitate free contraceptive, abortifacient, and sterilization coverage for their employees — imposes a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion. Because these decisions are at odds with earlier rulings issued by other Circuit Courts of Appeal, Mr. Verrilli contends, the Supreme Court “should therefore grant review in an appropriate case to resolve the conflict.”

Moreover, Mr. Verrilli continues, “the most suitable vehicle in which to consider the question” is the case that Jones Day attorneys have filed on behalf of Thomas Aquinas College and its co-plaintiffs, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Burwell (RCAW). “The Court should therefore grant the petition in RCAW, hold the remaining petitions raising the same question pending its decision in that case, and then dispose of those petitions in light of its decision in RCAW.” Should the Court follow Mr. Verrilli’s advice, Thomas Aquinas College’ lawsuit could prove to be the basis on which the fate of the HHS Mandate is determined.

“It appears that we may very well be the case for the Supreme Court to fully address the religious liberty of religious institutions in regards to the HHS Contraception Mandate,” says Thomas Aquinas College General Counsel John Quincy Masteller. It is unknown, however, when the Court is likely to decide the College’s petition for a writ of certiorari.

“We are hopeful that our case will soon get a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court,” says Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean. “While the justices consider our petition, we ask that friends of the College and all those who value religious liberty please pray for a favorable outcome.”