AUL has filed two more amicus briefs supporting freedom of conscience and arguing that the Obama Administration’s “HHS mandate,” requiring insurance coverage for “all FDA-approved contraceptives” including so-called “emergency contraceptive” and the abortion-inducing drug ella, is patently unconstitutional.

In O’Brien v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a private business and its owner are challenging the Obama Administration’s   Mandate  In September, a federal judge dismissed the case under the outrageous theory that the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights were not violated because being forced to pay for abortion is not the same as being forced to participate in abortion.

The case is now pending before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and AUL has filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs and on behalf of national medical organizations: Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Physicians for Life, and National Association of Pro Life Nurses. 

In the brief, available here, AUL demonstrates that “emergency contraception” can kill an already developing unborn child, and that forcing the plaintiffs to pay for such life-ending drugs violates the plaintiffs’ rights and contradicts long-standing American principles.

Then in Stormans v. Selecky, AUL has filed an amicus brief on behalf of Members of the United States Congress, supporting a pharmacy in the State of Washington that is challenging Washington Board of Pharmacy regulations that force pharmacists (and pharmacies) to dispense “emergency contraception.”  Earlier this year, a federal district court ruled that the regulations were unconstitutionally targeted at conscientious objectors like the plaintiff and violated the First Amendment.

In its brief, AUL is arguing that freedom of conscience is long-standing American ideal affirmed by federal and state law, by the U.S. Supreme Court, by our Nation’s Founders, and by national and international medical organizations.   Thus, our history and tradition dictate that healthcare providers cannot be forced to violate their moral, religious, or conscientious beliefs.

The brief, available here, is filed on behalf of Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Dan Benishek, M.D. (R-MI), Charles Boustany, M.D. (R-LA), Paul Broun, M.D. (R-GA), Chip Cravaack (R-MN), Renee Ellmers, R.N. (R-NC), John Fleming, M.D. (R-LA), Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Jeff Landry (R-LA), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Jeff Miller (R-FL), Steve Pearce (R-NM), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Joe Wilson (R-SC).