In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, SCOTUS narrowly ruled (5-4) to severely limit the “no-aid-for-religion” clause in Montana’s and 30 other states’ constitutions. This unprecedented decision and direct assault on the Establishment Clause opens the floodgates for taxpayer funding of private schools, the vast majority of which hold some type of religious affiliation. It also comes at a time when our public schools are already suffering extreme shortfalls in funding, and are being forced to adapt to instruction during a pandemic without the necessary resources.
To further exacerbate the Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, SCOTUS decided to double-down with their decision on Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, which expands any religious school’s ability to legally discriminate against teachers by considering them “ministers.” In other words, if you combine both decisions, it essentially means that taxpayers will now be footing the bill for legal discriminatory practices under the guise of “religious freedom”.
But the train doesn’t stop there! SCOTUS is on a roll and god...okay maybe not “god”, but “someone” help whoever gets in their way! The Supreme Court went all-in for the trifecta in their decision on Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. In their ruling, the court upheld the Trump Administration’s regulations allowing employers with religious objections to unilaterally exempt themselves from Affordable Care Act requirements that mandate insurance cover contraception at no cost, and without alerting the government of their intention to do so.
“As a result of this ruling, it will be harder for millions of Americans to access essential health care. Between 70,500 and 126,500 Americans will immediately lose access to no-cost contraceptive services,” Justice Ginsburg noted in her dissent.
While the direct and immediate effects are devastating, it is the rippling effect that raises even more concern, as the decision will certainly be used to further deteriorate opposition to religious discrimination and influence.
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