Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al. v. Trump et al.

Docket No.
17-3752, 18-1253, 19-1129, 19-1189
Appellate Court
Third Circuit

Goal

  • Block enforcement of an agency action
  • Declaration that agency action is unlawful
  • Vacate agency action

Issues

Case History

On January 9, 2019, the Third Circuit entered an order consolidating all appeals arising from the original case (2:17-cv-04540), so all documents in docket numbers 17-3752, 18-1253, 19-1129, and 19-1189 are included on this case page.

Why this Matters:

The plaintiff alleges that federal regulations exempting certain employers from providing women access to insurance plans that guarantee coverage of contraception without cost-sharing violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Affordable Care Act, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Broader exemptions to contraceptive coverage requirements could result in higher out-of-pocket costs and reduced access to services, making it more difficult to access this care. These appeals challenge the lower court’s rulings preliminarily enjoining the regulations pending litigation.


Potential Impact:

Efforts to extend exemptions to contraceptive coverage requirements would impose higher costs on consumers and reduce access to needed services.

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Related Litigation

Current Status

Decision issued

Legal Issues

Fifth Amendment - Equal Protection Clause, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Administrative Procedure Act - Without Observance of Procedure Required by Law, Administrative Procedure Act - Contrary to Law, Administrative Procedure Act - Arbitrary and Capricious, First Amendment - Establishment Clause

Amicus Briefs for Plaintiff(s)

Center for Reproductive Rights et al.; Program for the Study of Reproductive Justice at Yale Law School; Public Interest Law Center et al.; National Women’s Law Center et al.; Planned Parenthood Federation of America et al.; Massachusetts et al.; Caroline Mala Corbin et al.; Americans United for the Separation of Church and State et al.; American Nurses Association et al.; American Association of University Women et al.; U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce et al.; American Civil Liberties Union et al.

Amicus Briefs for Defendant(s)

Carl W. Bergquist et al.; Texas et al.; Ronald J. Colombo et al.; Religious Sisters of Mercy

Topic(s)

Preventive Services

Date Filed
December 21, 2017
Case Type
Civil
Court Type
Appellate Court
Court
Third Circuit
Judge
McKee, Theodore A.; Shwartz, Patty; Fuentes, Julio M.
Plaintiff(s)
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; State of New Jersey
Lead Counsel For Plaintiff(s)
Government
Defendant(s)
Donald J. Trump; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Department of Health and Human Services; Scott Bessent; Department of the Treasury; Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Department of Labor; United States
Lead Counsel for Defendant(s)
Government
Intervenors
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home