Another Non-Profit Challenge To Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

Last week, yet another lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate was filed. The Becket Fund announced the filing of the class action by three Christian religious non-profits on behalf of over 100 ministries that currently receive health benefits through the Southern Baptist Convention's GuideStone Financial Resources, one of the largest multi-employer church health care plans in the country. The complaint (full text) in Reaching Souls International, Inc. v. Sebelius, (WD OK, filed 10/11/2013) contends that even under the final regulations that allow religious non-profits to have a third-party administrator furnish contraceptive coverage, plaintiffs' religious exercise is burdened because they are required to facilitate coverage for contraceptives that they consider to be abortifacients.