Trump administration ends Obamacare battle for force Catholic school to pay for contraception, sterilization and abortions
The Trump Administration has voluntarily dismissed the government’s appeal in Ave Maria School of Law v. Sebelius, solidifying a legal victory for the Catholic law school and repairing some of the damage done by the ObamaCare abortion and contraception mandate. Ave Maria is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom and Liberty Counsel.
In 2014, the law school won an injunction against the ObamaCare requirement that the school pay for contraception, sterilization and abortion through its health plan. The Obama administration appealed that ruling, and the case had been on hold since. But now the Trump administration, having just announced new exemptions from the mandate for religious employers like Ave Maria, took the additional step of dismissing the Obama administration’s appeal.The Trump administration announced last week that employers will now be exempt from the federal requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraception in their health insurance plans if it conflicts with their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. This now limits a rule created under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act that required that employers, including non-church religious organizations, must cover all forms of contraception, from birth control pills to abortion drugs and devices, at no cost to the employees.
“The ObamaCare contraceptive mandate seriously threatened the missions of countless Christian schools, hospitals, and other institutions that provide invaluable benefits to our country but could not compromise their fundamental beliefs to appease President Obama’s ambition to lead the sexual revolution,” said Roger Gannam,Liberty Counsel’s Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs. “Bit by bit, religious liberty is being restored by President Trump,” said Gannam.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to reverse the federal requirement for employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception and abortion drugs and devices upholds religious freedom for Ave Maria School of Law and other nonprofit organizations who cannot and will not participate in killing innocent children,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “A Catholic university cannot teach students to stand for Christian values while it violates those same religious beliefs. The dismissal of this case is a great victory for the sanctity of life and for religious freedom,” said Staver.
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