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VICTORY: Federal Court Grants Insight for Living Ministries Relief from Federal Abortion Pill Mandate Fines

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll’s international Bible-teaching ministry provided an injunction while case makes its way through the federal court system   

This week, a U.S Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction to Insight for Living Ministries, the Bible-teaching ministry of well-known ministry leader, Pastor Charles R. Swindoll—founder and senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church, Frisco, Texas, and former president and current chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary.  Insight for Living Ministries is seeking judicial relief from the federal government’s Abortion Pill Mandate.

This means that the international Bible-teaching ministry will not have to comply with the mandate nor pay a $100.00 per day PER EMPLOYEE fine while the case makes its way through the court system.  The mandate threatens to cause a severe economic consequence to this international ministry.

“We are very encouraged by this outcome,” said Matthew Kacsmaryk, Liberty Institute’s Deputy General Counsel.

“This is an important victory for faith-based ministries that seek to provide life-affirming healthcare insurance for all their employees.”  Mr. Kacsmaryk explained, “IFLM believes it is a religious imperative to provide healthcare insurance and defend unborn human life.  Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the federal government cannot force IFLM to choose between these two religious beliefs.”

FORCING PEOPLE OF FAITH TO ABANDON THEIR FAITH

Last month, IFLM joined other Christian non-profits, schools, and organizations that are challenging the Abortion Pill Mandate when Liberty Institute filed a federal lawsuit on its behalf.  The Abortion Pill Mandate requires IFLM formally and materially cooperate in the dispensation of abortion-inducing drugs and devices that have the intent, design, effect, or risk of terminating unborn life or preventing its implantation and growth post-conception.

Other Liberty Institute clients that have filed lawsuits include:

• Shell Point Retirement Community, the Alliance Community for Retirement Living, Chapel Pointe at Carlisle, and Town and Country Manor (all affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance [CMA] denomination)
• Simpson University and Crown College (CMA colleges)
• Valley Forge Christian College (affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination)

Insight for Living Ministries and other Christian non-profits, schools, and charities are fighting back against the “religious accommodation” to the Abortion Pill Mandate because of its several problems affecting religious liberty rights:

• Religious ministries and colleges must transfer to an insurance company the ministry’s authority to provide the mandated contraceptives to its employees.

• The insurance company then uses that legal and moral authority to provide the organization’s employees the abortion-inducing drugs the ministry objects to providing.

• Somehow, the Obama Administration claims neither the employer nor employee would pay for the abortion-inducing drugs.

• Even more remarkably, the Obama Administration thinks this solves any conscience problems.

But the ministries Liberty Institute is representing disagree and assert that the “accommodation” still requires them to cooperate in and facilitate the provision of a service that violates their Christian faith and forces them to abandon their religious beliefs.

Liberty Institute is committed to defending the religious liberty rights of Insight for Living Ministries—and other clients—to ensure people of faith do not have to violate their religious conscience and abandon their sincerely held religious beliefs.

HELP PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF FAITH-BASED MINISTRIES

Without the financial and prayer support of concerned Americans like you, Liberty Institute would not be able to represent Insight for Living Ministries and other Christian non-profits, schools, and organizations.

And with your commitment to join us in this fight, we are confident we will prevail, because of our unique strategy model:

• Home-Field Advantage – Our national network of local attorneys “know the local territory” and how to win, wherever in America the case is litigated.
• All-Star Attorneys – Our network features only America’s best attorneys.  Many normally charge as much as $1,000 per hour . . . yet they take religious liberty cases pro bono (free of charge).
• Multiplied Impact of Every Dollar – For every $10,000 we spend on a case, we receive approximately $60,000 in pro bono (free) legal time by our all-star attorneys across the nation.  That means every dollar donated to Liberty Institute by concerned Americans goes a long way to bring down Goliaths like the ACLU!

So with your generous donation, please help support this effort today!  And thank you for joining with us as we work to defend religious rights and work to preserve religious liberty across America.

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About Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute is a nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America — in our schools, for our churches, in the military and throughout the public arena. Liberty’s vision is to reestablish religious liberty in accordance with the principles of our nation’s Founders. For information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.