Motion for summary reversal filed by the Archdiocese of Washington is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

Archdiocese of Washington’s comments in response to the NPRM issued by the Department of Health and Human Services is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

The Archdiocese of Washington took two steps yesterday to further its ongoing challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services Mandate, which requires employers to include abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilization in their employee health plans, or face crippling penalties for noncompliance.

First, the Archdiocese filed formal comments in response to HHS’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). After careful study of this new proposal, the Archdiocese commented that the proposed revisions do not resolve the religious liberty issues posed by the mandate. In fact, in at least one respect, the proposed new rule makes religious organizations’ situations worse by eliminating an important provision that allows the exemption of an exempt religious employer to be extended to all other religiously-affiliated organizations that participate in that religious employer’s group plan.

Second, the Archdiocese and its co-plaintiffs filed a Motion for Summary Reversal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Archdiocese and its co-plaintiffs are asking the appellate court to reverse the lower court’s decision in the case filed in May 2012, which was dismissed on ripeness grounds. The motion argues that the dismissal directly contradicts binding Circuit precedent announced by the Court of Appeals in Wheaton College v. Sebelius (D.C. Cir. Dec. 18, 2012) that held the appropriate disposition was not to dismiss, but rather, to hold the case in abeyance.

The Archdiocese has long expressed its concern about the serious religious liberty issues presented by the HHS Mandate that would force religious employers either to provide coverage for drugs and procedures that directly violate the teachings of their faith or to expose their organizations to devastating penalties. At the heart of the Archdiocese’s concern is HHS’s attempt to define who is, and who is not, “religious enough” to be exempt from compliance with the Mandate, essentially limiting the exemption to churches, and excluding other religious organizations like hospitals, schools, and social service ministries as not religious enough to be exempt.

Ultimately, the proposed new rule does not resolve the religious liberty issues posed by the HHS Mandate; indeed, it makes them worse. The Archdiocese and other religious organizations across the country urge the government to recognize that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship but also protects the freedom to exercise one’s faith in service to our fellow man and the common good.

Statement of the Archdiocese of Washington – Motion for Summary Reversal in HHS Mandate Lawsuit Filed; Comments Filed with HHS on Latest Mandate Proposal is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

CONTACT: Chieko Noguchi, 301-853-4516
cnoguchi@adw.org

The Archdiocese of Washington and its co-plaintiffs have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia regarding the January dismissal of the archdiocese’s legal challenge to the HHS mandate.

In the January ruling, which was not based on the merits of the archdiocese’s case, the U.S. District Court asserted that the case was premature in light of the government’s promises to amend the HHS mandate. The archdiocese and its co-plaintiffs will continue to advocate for a meaningful change to the mandate that respects the right of Catholic hospitals, schools and social service ministries to serve all those in need without violating their religious beliefs.

Archdiocese of Washington Files Notice of Appeal of U.S. District Court’s Decision in Archbishop of Washington et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

Judge Joy Flowers Conti, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, also dismissed a suit filed by Geneva College because the case was not yet ripe. The Protestant college, affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, said in a legal filing that it believes that “the procurement, participation in, facilitation of, or payment for abortion violates the Commandment against murder.”

Court rules that Catholic-owned company may challenge HHS mandate is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

AFA claims the federal mandate requiring employers to cover abortion-inducing drugs on their employees’ health insurance is a violation of its constitutional rights and federal statutes.

The Tupelo-based organization filed the suit against HHS and the department’s secretary Kathleen Sebelius in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. It is represented by the Center for Religious Expression and the Liberty Institute.

AFA files suit over health insurance is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University filed court papers that make it clear their dispute with the Department of Health and Human Services is not over, even after the agency proposed an accommodation on Feb. 1. That proposal would require insurers to set up separate policies to handle birth control, morning-after pills and other forms of contraception covered by the requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The universities said little would change under the proposal, since the administration did not extend the religious exemption that, as it stands, applies only to houses of worship.

“The same drugs would be provided by the same insurer to the same employees, all as an automatic result of plaintiffs’ offering health insurance,” the Baptist nonprofits said in a status report filed Friday with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

When HHS officials unveiled their accommodation, they stressed it was merely a proposal that is open for comment. But the nation’s Catholic bishops flatly rejected the plan, and legal advocacy groups that are handling lawsuits against the Obama administration show no signs of standing down.

The lawsuits — mostly from universities with religious affiliations — were placed on hold while the Obama administration devised a compromise for religious nonprofits. While attorneys for Baptist universities in Texas were quick to update the courts with their reaction to Mr. Obama’s olive branch, other plaintiffs have yet to reignite their legal disputes through legal briefs, motions or status reports. The Obama administration’s rule must be finalized by Aug. 1.

Nonprofits take contraception issue to court is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

Today, the Administration issued a proposed revision to regulations pertaining to the HHS mandate. We will be studying the new regulations closely and look forward to making a more comprehensive statement at a later date.

Statement of Archdiocese of Washington in response to the announcement of a proposed revision to the HHS mandate is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

In fact, the court’s ruling today places the onus squarely on the government to fulfill its binding commitment to address the religious freedom concerns of the Archdiocese of Washington, The Catholic University of America and several other Catholic entities. This requires the government to revise its HHS mandate in a way that truly respects our right to serve all those in need without violating our religious beliefs.

Today’s decision was based on two commitments the government made to the court in this case and others: first, that the mandate as currently written will never be enforced against us; and second, that the mandate will be revised in a way that addresses our religious freedom concerns by March 31, 2013.

The court specifically noted that the archdiocese and its co-plaintiffs have the right to file a new complaint if the government does not make a meaningful change to the mandate by the March deadline. The court made clear that “it would not look favorably upon the government’s failure to comply.”

On this day when so many march to honor the dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, we are hopeful that this ruling will ensure that Catholic and other religious entities will never be forced to engage in practices that violate our religious beliefs.

Statement of Archdiocese of Washington in Response to U.S. District Court’s Decision in Archbishop of Washington et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington, et al., Plantiff, v. Kathleen Sebelius, Seretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al., Defendants is a post from: Preserve Religious Freedom | PreserveReligiousFreedom.org