8th Circuit halts HHS mandate for Dordt

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit on Thursday, September 17, 2015, upheld a district court’s 2014 decision to halt enforcement of the Department of Health and Human Services mandate against two Christian colleges, Dordt College in Iowa and Cornerstone University in Michigan.

The HHS mandate requires employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide access, through their health insurance plans, to pills such as the morning-after and week-after pills, considered by many Christians to be abortifacients.

“In America, faith-based colleges and universities should be free to operate according to the faith they espouse and live out on a daily basis,” said Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who argued before the 8th Circuit in December of last year. “If the administration can punish Christian organizations simply because they want to abide by their faith, there is no limit to what other freedoms it can take away. The 8th circuit was right to uphold the district court’s order and block enforcement of this unconstitutional mandate.”

In its opinion in Dordt College v. Burwell, the 8th Circuit wrote, “For the reasons set forth in Sharpe Holdings, we conclude that by coercing Dordt and Cornerstone to participate in the contraceptive mandate and accommodation process under threat of severe monetary penalty, the government has substantially burdened Dordt and Cornerstone’s exercise of religion. Also for the reasons set forth in Sharpe Holdings, we conclude that, even assuming that the government’s interests in safeguarding public health and ensuring equal access to health care for women are compelling, the contraceptive mandate and accommodation process likely are not the least restrictive means of furthering those interests. Thus, based on our reasoning in Sharpe Holdings, we affirm the order granting injunctive relief.”

“We are pleased that the court has recognized our fundamental right to religious freedom,” said Dordt College President Dr. Erik Hoekstra. “As a thoroughly religious institution, Dordt College deserves the same protection as other religious organizations, and this decision reinforces that right.”

Hoekstra says that the decision recognizes the college’s ability to carry out its mission as a religious organization. “Our mission—to equip students to seek Christ-centered renewal in all areas of contemporary life—has always been protected under the constitution, and we expect that to continue.”