CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has asked a federal court to reconsider its ruling forcing the company to comply with the revised HHS mandate, based on an admission by the federal government in its brief before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\u201cThe government admitted what we have said from the beginning,\u201d said Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN. \u201cOnce you get past the bureaucratic smokescreen, this really comes down to one issue: the government wants to hijack our health plan. EWTN cannot let them do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
EWTN, the world\u2019s largest religious media network, is one of hundreds of non-profits and charities suing the federal government over its mandate \u2013 and the revisions it made to the mandate \u2013 that requires employers to offer health plans including contraceptives, sterilizations, and drugs that can cause early abortions.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s revision to the mandate was what it called an \u201caccommodation\u201d for non-profits who religiously objected to providing the coverage. The parties would send a notice of their objection to the government, who would then notify their insurer of the objection. The insurer would provide the contraception coverage separately.<\/p>\n
In the current HHS mandate case before the Supreme Court, Zubik v. Burwell, a number of charities including the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Archdiocese of Washington have argued that sending their notice of objection to the government still constitutes tacit acceptance and facilitation of a morally-objectionable act, providing contraceptives for employees. They are basically acting as a \u201cgatekeeper\u201d for the objectionable coverage, they argued.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, they say that the government is unconstitutionally \u201chijacking\u201d their health plan, which is an agreement between them and their insurer, in forcing the unwanted coverage into the plan.<\/p>\n
EWTN lost its initial case at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in February. A panel of judges ruled 2-1 that the government had indeed forced the network, under threat of heavy fines, to choose between its religious beliefs and participating with a morally-objectionable act in honoring the mandate.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the judges ruled that the government was not imposing a \u201csubstantial burden\u201d on EWTN\u2019s religious beliefs by doing so. Federal law protects from government action that \u201csubstantially burdens\u201d a person\u2019s religious beliefs, unless that action is for a \u201ccompelling government interest\u201d and is the \u201cleast-restrictive means\u201d of furthering that interest.<\/p>\n
The dissenting opinion in the ruling sharply disagreed, saying that the ruling \u201cruns roughshod over the sincerely held religious objections of Eternal Word Television Network.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now EWTN wants the 11th Circuit Court to reconsider the decision. The Supreme Court, in a historically rare move in the middle of the case, asked both sides in the Zubik v. Burwell case to submit supplemental briefs outlining an alternative solution \u2013 if any \u2013 that would fulfill both parties\u2019 interests of contraceptive coverage and religious freedom.<\/p>\n
The government, in its supplemental brief, \u201cessentially\u201d admitted that it is \u201ctaking over\u201d the health plans of the Little Sisters and other non-profits, Daniel Blomberg of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told CNA. Since EWTN is a non-profit as well, the same standard would apply to its own case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s been arguing all along that it\u2019s not really forcing EWTN to do anything except sign some paperwork,\u201d he said. Meanwhile, EWTN has said that the government is indeed \u201cforcing\u201d them to do something very significant, to \u201csign something that changes my health care plan, the plan that I administer and I stay involved with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 11th Circuit had sided with the government that the revised mandate only asked EWTN to perform a task the equivalent of raising its hand, which was not a \u201csubstantial burden\u201d on its religious beliefs, Blomberg explained.<\/p>\n
Now, the government\u2019s admission in the supplemental brief that it is intruding on health plans, he continued, acknowledges that \u201cthis is a hijack of a plan that forces [EWTN] to be involved \u2014 as long as they\u2019re providing health care, they\u2019re involved in the government\u2019s scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is \u201csomething much more significant and something only EWTN can do, and that is create new legal responsibilities for their health care plan to start providing drugs that violate their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
EWTN broadcasts to over 258 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. It also broadcasts via satellite radio, internet radio and other media. Its publications include the National Catholic Register. Its news services include Catholic News Agency.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Washington D.C., May 4, 2016 \/ 04:51 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has asked a federal court to reconsider its ruling forcing the company to comply with the revised HHS mandate, based on an admission by the federal gov…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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