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Birth control mandate headed for high court as GOP seeks to defund law

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The Affordable Care Act mandate that a company's health insurance cover birth control may get tested by the Supreme Court as early as next term, officials say.

Two federal courts have issued clashing rulings on the requirement, The Hill reported Thursday.

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"The question is when" the Supreme Court could hear arguments on the mandate, said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is involved in some of the more than 60 lawsuits filed against the mandate.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in July ruled against a for-profit business owned by a Mennonite family that said birth control was against their faith.

The court said the mandate applied only to their company, and didn't require them as individuals to do anything.

A month earlier, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decided the owners of Hobby Lobby could sue to block the U.S. from applying the mandate to their company.

"I would anticipate, when there's this much activity... that the Court will hear one of these" cases, said Louise Melling, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

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As the birth control mandate works its way through the court system, House Republicans are turning up the pressure to defund the entire law.

Some 80 House Republicans have signed a letter asking that any spending bill not include funds to implement or enforce the law.

None of the GOP leadership or chairs of any major committees have signed the letter.

Some Senate Republicans have been less enthusiastic about the letter, fearing it could lead to a shutdown of the federal government.

The rising costs of health insurance under the law has caused shipping company UPS to modify the firm's healthcare plans.

Spouses of UPS employees who have health insurance through their own job will no longer be offered coverage by UPS.

Spouses who don't work or whose company doesn't offer health coverage will remain on the UPS health plan.

The change could affect up to 15,000 employees, UPS said.

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