Wheaton College is appealing a federal judge's recent decision to dismiss its lawsuit against the HHS mandate that would force the school to cover abortion-inducing drugs.
The judge made that decision when the Department of Health and Human Services rewrote its "safe harbor" guidelines -- granting Wheaton a one-year exemption from the mandate, thus eliminating any immediate threat of lawsuits or fines (see earlier story). But Mark Rienzi of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is appealing the case, disagrees.
"Wheaton was exposed to private lawsuits in January. Wheaton has to deal with the uncertainty created for its employees and their families about whether they'll have insurance going forward in the future," Rienzi notes. "So, the trial court judge was just incorrect to find that there's no current burden on Wheaton."
He suggests the government has a shabby strategy of applying as much pressure as possible to those who oppose the contraception mandate, while it avoids rulings from the courts.
"The government's whole approach to this case has made clear that their goal is to keep as much pressure on as they can without having to face the judges and without having to get rulings from courts," the attorney asserts.
Rienzi is asking the D.C. Court of Appeals to allow Wheaton's lawsuit to go forward.