Judge Timothy DeGiusti, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, issued an injunction against the Obama Administration by ruling protection for nearly 200 evangelical ministries from federal mandates requiring them to provide abortifacients and contraceptives, as well as sterilizations, to their workers.
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Catholics Defeat ObamaCare in Appeals Court Ruling
Christians Defeating ObamaCare, DOJ Surrenders
Christians Oppose ObamaCare, Support Hobby Lobby
Evangelical Wheaton College Sues ObamaCare
-- From "Court deals new blow to birth control mandate" by Ben Goad, The Hill 12/20/13
Under the ruling, 187 non-exempt religious groups that offer insurance through GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention are now exempt from the mandate while their [legal] case proceeds.
The mandate would have otherwise kicked in for the ministries on Jan. 1, forcing them to either to begin offering contraceptive coverage or face penalties.
To date, there are currently 89 lawsuits challenging the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department's mandate, according to plaintiffs in the case.
Ultimately, the matter is widely expected to be decided by the Supreme Court, which agreed last month to hear a challenge to the mandate.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Oklahoma Birth Control Lawsuit Injunction Granted By Federal Judge" by Tim Talley, Associated Press 12/20/13
In his 16-page decision, DeGiusti said the ministries have the right to challenge the health care law's contraceptive mandate and that an injunction is needed to prevent the federal government from enforcing it on them.
DeGiusti . . . said the ministries who refuse to provide the contraceptives also "face substantial financial penalties, and their refusal will cause a substantial financial loss to GuideStone if it excludes nonexempt, noncompliant organizations from the GuideStone plan."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Federal judge deals another blow to ObamaCare contraceptive mandate" posted at FoxNews.com 12/21/13
“This is an overwhelming victory for GuideStone and the nearly 200 plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit,” said Adele Keim, a lawyer for GuideStone and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty -- a non-profit, public-interest law firm that helped represent the ministries in the case.
“Today’s ruling will allow hundreds of Baptist ministries to continue preaching the Gospel and serving the poor … without laboring under the threat of massive fines,” she said.
The injunction will prevent the government from enforcing the mandate as the suit makes its way through the legal system. However, the groups still must comply with all of the other ObamaCare regulations.
In the lawsuit, the ministries object to providing four out of 20 Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, including the morning-after pill and the week-after pill, which they allege may cause early abortions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
The battle: Report Says Not Enough Abortions - ObamaCare the Answer and so ObamaCare Covers Abortion & Pays Abortionists
In addition, read Morning-After Abortifacient is Becoming the 'Contraceptive' Choice
