MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The State of Alabama has joined a “friend of the court brief” to the United States Supreme Court, urging its justices not to force religious non-profit organizations to comply with parts of ObamaCare that violate their beliefs.
The Supreme Court announced in November that it would hear Zubik v. Burwell, among other cases involving non-profits seeking to avoid the provision of ObamaCare that forces them to provide contraception as part of their employees’ health insurance.
This week, Alabama and nineteen other states filed the brief in support of David Zubik, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, whose organization is seeking an exemption from the contraceptive mandate.
“Americans’ ability to exercise their religious beliefs – a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution – is unfortunately under assault from a federal government determined to sacrifice our rights to further its political goals,” said Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, whose office filed the brief on behalf of the State of Alabama.
“By compelling religious nonprofit groups to provide contraceptive coverage, the president’s Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, forces them to institute practices that are at odds with their deeply-held religious beliefs. These groups, which perform vital public services, have a constitutional right to exercise their religious beliefs just as surely as any individual citizen.”
The brief echoes Strange’s sentiments, arguing that “erecting impediments to (the non-profits’) adherence to their religious beliefs can threaten” their ability to “serve their communities in a variety of ways, from caring for the youngest members of society, to serving the elderly with compassion, to providing educations that allow individuals to pursue their own contributions.”
The State of Alabama has previously joined numerous other friend of the court briefs supporting religious non-profits seeking exemptions from ObamaCare’s contraception coverage mandates, including Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell. The plaintiffs in that case, who have been embroiled in a four-year legal battle with the Obama administration, were guests of House Speaker Paul Ryan at Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address.
In October 2013, the State also joined a lawsuit on behalf of the Alabama-based Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). EWTN, the largest Catholic media company in the world, could face $10 million in fines for failure to comply with the contraceptive mandate. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted EWTN a stay from federal fines while its case is under review.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue this summer.
