On Friday night, two of the three major broadcast networks saw no interest in telling their viewers that the Supreme Court of the United States had decided to accept another major case on the future of ObamaCare as the high court will hear arguments pertaining to the law’s contraception mandate.
Surprisingly, NBC Nightly News not only covered it, but offered a full, one-minute-and-21-second report from Justice correspondent Pete Williams.
Anchor Lester Holt set the table by firmly declaring that “[t]he fight over ObamaCare is headed back to the Supreme Court” with the focus being “health insurance for contraception and groups that object on religious grounds to providing it for employees.”
Located outside the Court, Williams pointed out that the upcoming case “will be ObamaCare's fourth trip here to the Supreme Court and this time, the decision will affect hundreds of religious schools, charities, and hospitals nationwide and the women who work for them.”
Williams then outlined the issue with the contraception mandate that religious non-profits are opposing:
It’s ObamaCare requirement that they provide contraceptive coverage to their employees. Churches, temples and mosques are completely exempt, but what about non-profits with religious affiliations? Example, the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Catholic nuns. The Pope met with them to show his support during his U.S. visit in September. They object to providing the coverage.
While Williams reported that the Obama administration argues that “all they have to do is put that in writing” and “provide contact information for their insurance provider,” he emphasized that the Little Sisters of the Poor have consistently pointed out that they’re still complicit in the abortifacient process and will fight for their independence in Court.
Williams concluded with an approximate timeline for oral arguments and an eventual ruling: “The Court will hear the case in March with a decision by late June.”
The transcript of the segment from November 6's NBC Nightly News can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
November 6, 2015
7:09 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: ObamaCare Challenge]
LESTER HOLT: The fight over ObamaCare is headed back to the Supreme Court. This time, the issue is health insurance for contraception and groups that object on religious grounds to providing it for employees. Our Justice correspondent Pete Williams is at the Court with details. Pete, break it down for us.
PETE WILLIAMS: Lester, good evening. This will be ObamaCare's fourth trip here to the Supreme Court and this time, the decision will affect hundreds of religious schools, charities, and hospitals nationwide and the women who work for them. Here is the issue. It’s ObamaCare requirement that they provide contraceptive coverage to their employees. Churches, temples and mosques are completely exempt, but what about non-profits with religious affiliations? Example, the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Catholic nuns. The Pope met with them to show his support during his U.S. visit in September. They object to providing the coverage and the Obama administration says all they have to do is put that in writing, provide contact information for their insurance provider, and the government will take it from there, but the nuns say that makes them complicit in something they believe is unacceptable. The government says all the nuns have to do is next to nothing, but the nuns and other religious groups say even that is too much. The Court will hear the case in March with a decision by late June. Lester.
HOLT: Alright, Pete, thanks.
