CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has become the first federal appellate court to hear arguments surrounding the federal contraception mandate, as two religious colleges argue that their religious freedom is threatened by the rule.<\/p>\n\t\u201cThe decision from the D.C. Circuit will no doubt influence the decisions of others courts,\u201d said Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.<\/p>\n
\tDuncan told CNA shortly after the Dec. 14 hearing that the ruling in the case \u2013 brought by Belmont Abbey College and Wheaton College \u2013 could have important implications for the dozens of other lawsuits challenging the mandate.<\/p>\n
\tThe lawsuits revolve around a federal mandate that requires employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and early abortion drugs. The mandate includes only a narrow religious exemption that applies only to non-profit organizations that exist to inculcate religious doctrine and employ and serve primarily members of their own faith.<\/p>\n
\tMost religious organizations fail to qualify for the exemption and will be faced with devastating fines if they do not comply with the regulation.<\/p>\n
\tResponding to waves of protest after the mandate was initially announced, the government created a one-year \u201csafe harbor\u201d to delay enforcement of the rule against non-profit religious organizations that object to it.<\/p>\n
\tDuring this time, the government has promised to create an \u201caccommodation\u201d for the religious liberty of these groups. However, that process is still in its very early stages, and the initial suggestions put forth by the administration have been criticized as inadequate.<\/p>\n
\tThe safe harbor period will end Aug. 1, 2013, and religious organizations will be subject to the mandate after that time.<\/p>\n
\tMore than 110 organizations have filed lawsuits challenging the mandate for threatening their constitutional right to free exercise of religion. Plaintiffs include the Archdiocese of New York, EWTN, the University of Notre Dame and over a dozen schools of different religious affiliations, along with health groups and Catholic Charities affiliates throughout the country.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, seven states and numerous for-profit businesses have filed lawsuits against the mandate, includes arts-and-crafts giant Hobby Lobby and manufacturers of products including medical equipment, auto lights and wood cupboards.<\/p>\n
\tBelmont Abbey College, a Catholic liberal arts college in North Carolina, became the first plaintiff to challenge the mandate when it was initially announced in 2011. Wheaton College, an Evangelical Christian liberal arts school in Illinois, filed a lawsuit in July 2012.<\/p>\n
\tBoth cases had previously been dismissed by lower courts as being \u201cpremature\u201d because of the government\u2019s promise to issue an additional accommodation.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, a federal judge in New York issued an opposing decision in the local archdiocese\u2019s case on Dec. 6, determining that it was mature and noting, \u201cThere is no \u2018Trust us changes are coming\u2019 clause in the Constitution.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tThe D.C. court of appeals combined the Belmont Abbey and Wheaton cases in an expedited appeal.<\/p>\n
\tDuring the Dec. 14 oral arguments, the Becket Fund argued on behalf of the colleges, stressing that \u201cthe mandate is final\u201d and is \u201ccurrently burdening the conduct of the colleges,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n
\tHe explained that the budgeting and hiring decisions currently facing the schools are heavily impacted by the potentially-crippling fines they could be slammed with for refusing to follow the mandate\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, he said, the safe harbor period protects religious institutions from federal government penalties but does not prevent individuals from suing the colleges for failing to adhere to the mandate.<\/p>\n
\tThe government argued during the hearing that it is still working on the accommodation, Duncan continued, but it would not say \u201cwhat the new rule will be\u201d or what might be in it, suggesting only that a proposal should be expected in the first quarter of 2013. That proposal would then have to undergo another process before being finalized.<\/p>\n
\tIn the next few months, the appeals court will issue a decision, determining whether the lawsuit is \u201cripe\u201d to proceed or if the safe harbor and government promise of an accommodation render it premature. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tDuncan said that he is \u201cencouraged\u201d when cases are judged on their actual merits because he believes the government\u2019s argument is weak.<\/p>\n
\tAn injunction has been granted to four out of five for-profit cases that have received a ruling, he pointed out.<\/p>\n
\tDespite the safe harbor, he said, it is clear that the mandate is already hampering the colleges by \u201cputting pressure on the exercise of their religious rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
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