Supreme Court Declines To Hear Church-State Cases

Shrinking away from embroiling itself in a dispute over church-state issues, the Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear appeals in two cases that religious communities were watching closely.

One of the cases, heard last year by New York's highest state court, would have tested whether the First Amendment prohibited a New York law requiring employers that offer prescription drug coverage to cover birth control pills. The law was challenged by several Christian charities, which argued that it ran counter to their religious doctrine to pay for birth control. While the law exempted many religious organizations, some religious groups — such as charities that employ and cater to persons of a range of faiths — weren't covered in the exemption. The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the appeal means that the decision last year by New York's Court of Appeals to uphold the Women's Health and Wellness Act will stand.

Another case with implications for religious groups that the court turned down yesterday originated out of the San Francisco Bay area. The court had been asked to consider a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that an evangelical group did not have a First Amendment right to hold worship services in a room at a public library.

To decide that case, the justices would have had to decide whether worship could be classed differently than other speech and whether the government could set up some worship-free zones. Any ruling by the high court on the matter would have significant implications for the two dozen church congregations that hold Sunday worship at the campuses of New York City public schools. The city's Department of Education has long been trying to get a court order allowing it to bar the worship services from the campuses. This summer, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan split three ways in deciding the matter, which leaves the congregations able to meet at the schools.

That case, Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education, eventually could end up before the federal high court, although that may not happen for some time, as it is currently back before a district court.