A report in today’s Fort Wayne, Ind., Journal Gazette, notes that Grace College has won a lawsuit (filed along with Biola University) that challenged enforcement of a portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that required providing contraception when an employer’s religious convictions opposed it. A portion of the story appears below. Click here to read the complete article. CBN also carried a story, which is included below. Click here for the complete article, Court Orders End of Abortion-Pill Mandate for Indiana, CA Christian Colleges.
Judge lets Grace skirt ACA birth control rule
Grace College and Seminary in Winona Lake has won a lawsuit against a federal requirement to provide no-cost coverage of contraception, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization through student and employee health-insurance plans.
The ruling, which ends a nearly six-year dispute, came Monday from Judge Jon E. DiGuilio of the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana, South Bend.
The judge issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the portion of the Affordable Care Act dealing with providing contraception when an employer’s religious convictions opposed it.
The reason for the injunction, the judge wrote, was that the Trump administration’s Department of Justice had abandoned defending the measure, saying it would violate the rights of Grace and another college under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The provisions were enacted during the Obama administration.
Grace, an evangelical Christian college, had filed suit with Biola University of La Mirada, California. The two schools were represented by the Alliance for Defending Freedom of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Grace President Bill Katip said in an email he was “heartened” by the decision.
“Christian institutions like ours should not be forced to abandon our religious beliefs to remain lawful. We will continue to provide excellent health care benefits to our employees that maintain our moral convictions, including the sanctity of human life,” Katip said.
Click here to read the complete article.
Court Orders End of Abortion-Pill Mandate for Indiana, CA Christian Colleges
A federal district court is blocking the federal government from enforcing the Obama abortion-pill mandate against Christian colleges in Indiana and California.
“After reconsideration of their position, defendants with the federal government now agree that enforcement of the rules regarding the contraceptive mandate against employers with sincerely held religious objections would violate the RFRA…,” the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, wrote in its order in Grace Schools v. Azar. It added that “the public interest in the vindication of religious freedom favors the entry of an injunction and declaratory judgment.”
The order also declares that the mandate violates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Signed by President Bill Clinton, the 1993 act ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected.
The Obama-era mandate forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception through their health plans under threat of heavy penalties. The Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, abandoned its defense of the flawed mandate, which the Department of Health and Human Services implemented during the previous administration.
Both Grace College and Seminary in Indiana and Biola University in California were represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Click here for the complete article, Court Orders End of Abortion-Pill Mandate for Indiana, CA Christian Colleges.
Also see a report from ABC 57 News:
Grace College fights government regulated policies based on religious beliefs
A Michiana Christian college has fought against being forced to provide contraception or the abortion pill coverage for its employees and students. And the battle is now over.
After roughly six years, the court ruled in favor of Grace College.
The school has fought the mandate that forces them to provide the drugs based on religious beliefs.
Click here to view the complete story from ABC 57 News.