ADF comment on HHS mandate 'accommodation'
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor regarding the Obama administration’s announcement Friday regarding the Department of Health and Human Services’ abortion-pill mandate. The administration issued a new rule that alters the way faith-based non-profits can invoke a so-called “accommodation,” under which the beneficiaries of their insurance plans can access religiously objectionable drugs, devices, and counseling. The government also proposed a rule designed to provide a way for closely-held businesses to comply with the mandate through the same “accommodation.”“The government should not force religious organizations, family businesses, or individuals to be complicit in providing abortion pills to their employees or students. We will consult with our clients to determine how the government’s actions affect their sincere objections to the mandate. Notably, the administration has failed to extend its existing religious exemption to the religious owners of family businesses and to religious non-profits other than churches. That would have been the best way of respecting freedom for everyone.”
- Resource page: ADF lawsuits challenging the abortion-pill mandate
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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Resource page: ADF lawsuits challenging the abortion-pill mandate
ABOUT Gregory S. Baylor
Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and senior counsel with the Center for Public Policy. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees. Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF.