Church Appeals State Law Forcing Them To Pay For Abortion;A church in Seattle, Washington, has filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after a lower court ruled that the church must pay for elective abortions as part of its healthcare coverage.

 

Church Appeals State Law Forcing Them To Pay For Abortion

A church in Seattle, Washington, has filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after a lower court ruled that the church must pay for elective abortions as part of its healthcare coverage.

In 2018, Washington state passed a law requiring most employers to provide elective abortions as part of their healthcare coverage for employees if the coverage also includes maternity care. Businesses that refuse to do so face criminal penalties up to and including prison time.Conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing Cedar Park Church in the case. John Bursch, the group’s Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy released a statement about the lawsuit.

“Cedar Park Church celebrates and protects life from conception to natural death; it’s unconscionable for the state to force any church to pay for abortions,” the statement read.

“The abortion coverage mandate requires Cedar Park to act contrary to its religious beliefs and violates its constitutionally protected freedoms,” the statement continued. “The U.S. Supreme Court has established that the government cannot compel religious organizations to act in violation of their sincerely held faith convictions.”

Citing Fulton v. City of Philadelphia — where the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the city of Philadelphia could not stop sending foster care referrals to Catholic Social Services because of its beliefs on marriage — Bursch argued that the ruling made it clear that the government cannot discriminate against faith-based groups for their beliefs.

The new lawsuit, Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland v. Kriedler, focuses on whether churches are able to access the same conscience-based protections that healthcare providers have — as their religious objections are protected by Washington state.

“Washington offers real conscience protection to health care providers, religiously sponsored health carriers, and health care facilities,” ADF wrote in its opening brief. “These religious objectors are exempt from including abortion coverage in their own employee health plans or paying for abortion coverage in any circumstance. Yet because Cedar Park is a church and not a healthcare-related entity, Washington forces it to (at least) indirectly include abortion and abortifacient contraceptives in its health plan. And the state authorizes health carriers to charge Cedar Park for this abortion coverage surreptitiously.”