A Missouri federal appeals court says President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act unjustly forces religiously affiliated employers to help provide insurance coverage for certain contraceptives even though they don't directly pay for it.
The two rulings Thursday by a three-judge 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld lower court decisions in two lawsuits by plaintiffs who included three Christian colleges.
Those plaintiffs include Missouri's Heartland Christian College, Iowa's Dordt College. And Michigan's Cornerstone University, as well as Missouri-based CNS International Ministries.
The plaintiffs argued that although they don't have to pay for the contraceptives, they say the scheme makes them complicit in the providing them.
The White House says it is disappointed with Thursday's rulings, noting that all other federal appellate courts have found in the U.S. government's favor.