In a statement, a Justice Department official pointed to the Wheaton College decision as the impetus behind the decision. “In light of the Supreme Court order regarding Wheaton College, the Departments intend to augment their regulations to provide an alternative way for objecting nonprofit religious organizations to provide notification…”

The Obama administration announced Tuesday evening that they would create a workaround to allow nonprofits to claim religious exemptions from the Obamacare contraception mandate without filing out a controversial form. The wider exemption, which will be finalized nest month, came after a series of defeats for the administration at the nation’s highest court.

At issue is EBSA Form 700, which religious nonprofits are required to sign before they are granted religious exemptions from the HHS mandate. Many religious nonprofits have complained that signing the form, which simultaneously directs insurers to provide the contraceptives, also violates their religious beliefs by making them complicit in the process. The result was something of a legal catch-22: in order to avoid acts that violate their religion, nonprofits would have had to violate their religion. Catholic and evangelical organizations such as Wheaton College, the University of Notre Dame, and Little Sisters of the Poor filed lawsuits against the Obama administration to receive accommodations without filing Form 700.

Earlier this month in Wheaton College v. Burwell, the Supreme Court granted relief to the evangelical college, saying they do not have to fill out the form, but can instead simply write a letter to the administration informing them of Wheaton’s religious opposition.

Read More