U.S./ Wack-a-Doddle-ry in ACLU v. Sebelius

At Mother Jones, they are (sigh) crowing. For some, it appears, any loss for the bishops is a win, which explains the headline, “Catholic Bishops Lose a Big Battle Over Contraception.” Actually, the loss here is by those victims of human trafficking whom the bishops and other religious institutions help, but – it appears – symbolic thumpings of Catholic prelates count for more than alleviating the very non-symbolic suffering of real, vulnerable people.  

In recent days, many bien pensant commentators have embraced the unattractive tactic of asserting that the challenges to the health-insurance mandate are, of course, frivolous, and that the only explanation for a Court decision striking it down would be low politics. I suspect that these commentators know better, and are merely trying to condition the environment to receive their outraged denunciations of a ruling – if one comes – limiting the Affordable Care Act. The loopy ruling in ACLU v. Sebelius, however, shows us what inexplicably erroneous rulings and frivolous arguments actually look like, and they are not pretty.


First appeared in Mirror of Justice.