Court Says Two Christian Colleges Exempt from Birth Control Mandate For Now

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: May 22, 2014

Court Says Two Christian Colleges Exempt from Birth Control Mandate For Now

Dordt College and Cornerstone University have been temporarily exempted from the national birth control mandate by a federal court. The two Christian colleges in Iowa and Michigan have presented a case against participation in the Affordable Care Act on grounds of religious disagreement; the court has allowed the colleges to be blocked from the mandate while the lawsuit continues.

The court granted the temporary exemption because the colleges could “suffer irreparable harm” if they were forced to comply. U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett wrote. Also, it the colleges are “sufficiently likely to succeed on the merits,” mean the judge believes Dordt College and Cornerstone University will win their cases.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the Christian colleges. ADF Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor expressed his approval of the court’s decision.

“Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their defining beliefs. Under this mandate, religious employers have no real choice: they must either comply and abandon their religious freedom, or resist and be taxed for their faith. If the government can force Christian colleges to act contrary to their deeply-held religious convictions, then the government can do just about anything. The court was right to block enforcement of this unconstitutional mandate,” he said.



Court Says Two Christian Colleges Exempt from Birth Control Mandate For Now