Why The Little Sisters Are Still Fighting the ACA Mandate

Why are the Little Sisters of the Poor still being dragged into court over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate—years after the Supreme Court ruled in their favor?

On this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Andy Morris to discuss a newly filed amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Pennsylvania & New Jersey v. Trump. The case challenges religious exemptions that protect the Little Sisters, Catholic nuns who object to being forced to provide contraception coverage.

The conversation explores how federal agencies imposed the mandate without clear congressional authorization, why Pennsylvania and New Jersey are suing to eliminate long-standing religious exemptions, and how the case exposes serious constitutional problems—including lack of standing, agency overreach, and violations of the nondelegation doctrine.

At its core, this episode explains why vague laws and unchecked bureaucratic power threaten religious liberty and the separation of powers—and why courts should put an end to litigation that never should have continued.

Unwritten Law examines how unwritten rules, agency actions, and judicial shortcuts quietly reshape the law—often without the consent of the governed.