10th Circuit to hear Christian universities' challenge to abortion-pill mandate
ADF attorney available to media following oral arguments Monday
Friday, Dec 5, 2014
Attorney sound bite: Gregory S. Baylor
WHO: ADF Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 8, immediately following hearing, which begins at 9:00 a.m. MST
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Byron White U.S. Courthouse,
Courtroom 1, 1823 Stout St., Denver
DENVER – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor will be available for media interviews immediately following his oral argument Monday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf of four Christian universities in Oklahoma, which filed suit in 2013 against the Obama administration’s abortion-pill mandate.
“The government should not force religious organizations to be involved in providing abortion pills to their employees or students,” said Baylor. “All Americans should oppose unjust laws that force people – under threat of punishment – to give up their fundamental freedoms in order to provide health plans. It’s no different for these Christian colleges, which simply want to abide by the very faith they espouse and teach. The government is forbidden from punishing people of faith for making decisions consistent with that faith.”
In December 2013, a federal court suspended enforcement of the abortion-pill mandate against the four Christian universities. The administration’s mandate forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide health plans that create access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties. The four universities – Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University – specifically object to providing access to abortifacients.
WHO: ADF Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 8, immediately following hearing, which begins at 9:00 a.m. MST
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Byron White U.S. Courthouse,
Courtroom 1, 1823 Stout St., Denver
DENVER – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor will be available for media interviews immediately following his oral argument Monday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf of four Christian universities in Oklahoma, which filed suit in 2013 against the Obama administration’s abortion-pill mandate.
“The government should not force religious organizations to be involved in providing abortion pills to their employees or students,” said Baylor. “All Americans should oppose unjust laws that force people – under threat of punishment – to give up their fundamental freedoms in order to provide health plans. It’s no different for these Christian colleges, which simply want to abide by the very faith they espouse and teach. The government is forbidden from punishing people of faith for making decisions consistent with that faith.”
In December 2013, a federal court suspended enforcement of the abortion-pill mandate against the four Christian universities. The administration’s mandate forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide health plans that create access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties. The four universities – Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University – specifically object to providing access to abortifacients.
- Fact sheet: Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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