This is one of many lawsuits brought challenging the Obama administration's 2012 Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring employers to pay for employees' contraception and abortifacients via medical insurance coverage. Many religious hospitals, charities, universities, and other enterprises owned or controlled by religious organizations or individuals who opposed contraception on doctrinal grounds, argued the mandate violated their religious beliefs. For a full list of these cases please see our collection of the Contraception Insurance Mandate cases here.

On August 23, 2012, Grace College and Seminary, and Biola University, Inc.—both religious non-profits—filed this lawsuit in the Northern District of Indiana. They raised their claims against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb), the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 706(2)), and the First and Fifth Amendments. Represented by private counsel and the Alliance Defending Freedom, the plaintiffs sought to enjoin enforcement of provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) extending universal contraception coverage in employer-sponsored private health insurance coverage. The plaintiffs contended that this mandatory contraception coverage violated their sincerely held religious beliefs.

On September 6, 2013, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint incorporating the government's newly announced accommodations for non-profit, religious organizations. The plaintiffs argued that even with an accommodation, the mandate violated its religious freedoms. The plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction along with the amended complaint.

On September 27, 2013, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, or, in the alternative, a motion for summary judgment. On October 11, 2013, the plaintiff filed a separate motion for summary judgment.

On December 27, 2013, the District Court (Judge Jon E. DeGuilio) granted the plaintiff's preliminary injunction on the grounds that the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm without it and their claims had merit under RFRA.

On February 24, 2014, the defendant appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (No. 14-1430). This case was consolidated on appeal with Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend v. Sebelius. On September 4, 2015, the Seventh Circuit (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovener) reversed the District Court's preliminary injunction and remanded the case, noting that since the suit was filed, the contraception mandate accommodation had been expanded to allow qualifying religious employers to notify HHS directly about their objections. On November 5, 2015, the Seventh Circuit denied the plaintiffs' petition for a rehearing en banc. On November 12, 2015, the Seventh Circuit granted the plaintiffs' motion to stay the suit pending petition for writ of certiorari.

On February 3, 2016, the plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted the Petition for Writ of Certiorari on May 16, 2016. The Supreme Court vacated the judgement and remanded the case, citing Zubik, which held that it was appropriate to vacate and remand so that the courts of appeals could address the arguments in response to the order for supplemental briefs. The supplement briefing request asked parties to address how contraceptive coverage could be obtained by employees through insurance companies that did not require any involvement by plaintiffs beyond their decision to provide health insurance without contraceptive coverage. The Supreme Court's order also resulted in dismissal of the defendants' consolidated interlocutory appeals.

On remand, the Northern District of Indiana granted the plaintiffs' motion for a permanent injunction and declaratory relief on June 1, 2018. The injunction required that defendants be barred from any effort to enforce any requirements of the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate that violated the plaintiffs' religious consciences. The declaratory relief stated that the requirements of the contraceptive mandate violated the plaintiffs' rights protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This order was issued in part due to defendant’s concession that they were no longer raising a substantive defense. The parties reached a settlement for attorneys' fees on September 18, 2018.

The case is closed.

Wyatt Fore - 03/26/2013
Mallory Jones - 03/24/2014
Kate Craddock - 02/21/2016
Cedar Hobbs - 10/26/2019


compress summary