On April 4, 2014, Union University, a Baptist college, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the Department of Health and Human Services. The university, represented by private ...
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On April 4, 2014, Union University, a Baptist college, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the Department of Health and Human Services. The university, represented by private counsel, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming that the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate violated its sincerely held religious beliefs; the First Amendment's establishment clause and freedom of speech; and the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause.
The university moved for a preliminary injunction blocking HHS from implementing the mandate. HHS did not oppose the motion. Though the agency did not believe the university would win on the merits, it agreed that the case should be stayed in light of two similar cases currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. On April 29, 2014, the court (Judge Daniel Breen) granted the preliminary injunction and stayed the case until resolution of the pending appeals in the similar cases.
Andrew Junker - 10/08/2014
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