CENTER SEEKS TO DEFEND FEDERAL CONSCIENCE PROTECTIONS FOR PRO-LIFE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
On January 4, 2005 the CLS Center, on behalf of the Christian Medical Association (CMA) and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), filed a motion to intervene in a case in which the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) is challenging the constitutionality of the “Weldon Amendment.”
In December 2004 Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Weldon Amendment as part of the Federal Appropriations Act for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor. It provides that no federal agency or program nor any state or local government receiving certain federal funds may discriminate against healthcare providers because they refuse to perform or refer patients for abortions.
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), an organization of family planning clinics that includes abortionists, filed suit on December 13, 2004 asking a federal court to stop federal government agencies from implementing the statute’s conscience protections.
The CMA and AAPLOG seek to defend the Weldon Amendment’s anti-discrimination provisions for their members, over 18,000 pro-life doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and other healthcare workers. They also refute the NFPRHA’s argument that doctors who wish to refer patients for abortions have a First Amendment right to force pro-life healthcare workers to provide the abortion referrals.
Attorneys from the CLS Center and the Alliance Defense Fund represent CMA and AAPLOG in this case. ADF is also generously supporting the Center’s work on this case.
UNIVERSITY CASES UPDATE
Center attorneys currently represent a number of religious student organizations on college campuses. The Center is fighting to change portions of university non-discrimination policies that unconstitutionally prohibit student groups from selecting leaders and members based on their shared religious beliefs.
Center attorneys represent the Christian Legal Society chapter at Arizona State University. The Center, along with the Alliance Defense Fund, filed a complaint against the university on November 17, 2004. Arizona State filed a motion to dismiss the case at the end of December, and Center attorneys will file a response to the motion this month.
Center attorneys are also working with DiscipleMakers, a Christian student group at Penn State. The Center filed a complaint against the university on behalf of DiscipleMakers on October 8, 2004, and the university filed its answer on November 3, 2004.
Center attorneys also commenced litigation against the University of California – Hastings on October 22, 2004 on behalf of the university’s Christian Legal Society chapter. The university filed a motion to dismiss the case, and Center attorneys will file a response to the motion in the near future.
Center attorneys additionally represent the Christian Legal Society chapter at Washburn University in their dispute with university officials. The Center filed a lawsuit against the university on September 16, 2004. Washburn University’s Board of Regents voted on January 14, 2005 to revise the university’s nondiscrimination policy to respect the religious freedom of student religious groups, thereby addressing the constitutional defects in the policy that prompted the lawsuit.
CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY JOINS FRIEND OF THE COURT BRIEF IN CASE TO DECIDE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF RLUIPA
The Christian Legal Society joined an amicus brief filed by the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion in Cutter v. Wilkinson , a case now pending in the United States Supreme Court.
In this case, the Court will consider the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). CLS lobbied for the bill and supports its constitutionality. The brief asserts that RLUIPA is consistent with the Establishment Clause, it is a constitutional exercise of Congress’ spending power, and it is a constitutional exercise of Congress’ commerce power.
Anthony R. Picarello, Jr. and Derek Gaubatz of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and K. Hollyn Hollman of the Baptist Joint Committee wrote the brief.
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