Written by Don Byrd
GuideStone Financial Services, which provides benefits for the Southern Baptist Convention and other religious organizations, has initiated a class action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.
The Christian Science-Monitor reports:
The class… includes over 100 ministries that currently receive conscience-compliant health benefits through GuideStone. None of the ministries that comprise the class qualify for HHS’ narrow “religious employer” exemption, and they all face enormous fines if they do not comply with the government’s mandate by January 1, 2014.
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The lawsuit is brought by Reaching Souls, Truett-McConnell, and GuideStone on behalf of all of the religious groups that participate in GuideStone’s health benefits plan and are not exempt from the government mandate to cover emergency contraceptives.“The very purpose of the GuideStone plan is to provide ministry organizations with employee health benefits according to Biblical principles,” said O.S. Hawkins, GuideStone’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The government shouldn’t prohibit us from continuing in that ministry.”
You can read the complaint here. By the Christian Science-Monitor’s count, this is the 74th lawsuit challenging that controversial provision and the 2nd class action. Meanwhile, petitions in cases challenging the mandate continue to flow to the Supreme Court, including one this week. Most observers expect the Court to take up the issue soon.
