Four Oklahoma universities scored a huge win for religious institutions last Tuesday. A federal district court judge ended the government enforcement of an Obamacare mandate for four universities. The mandate from 2010, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, threatened harsh penalties for schools which did not offer abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception — regardless of religious affiliation.
The mandate clearly betrayed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act from 1993, which guarantees the free practice of religion.
Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University were the Christian schools who filed the suit in an attempt to regain their right to practice their beliefs regarding drugs that could cause early abortions.
The suit was filed back in 2013 and was finally granted on Tuesday. The judge decided in favor of the plaintiffs, stating the Obamacare injunction did not override the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The schools will now be allowed to return to their normal practices without fear of hefty penalties.
The universities were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal organization defending the religious rights of Christians. ADF is appreciatively known for building Christian-based alliances and defending religious liberty since 1994. In defending the Christian beliefs of these four schools, ADF procured an enormous victory for Christian pro-life organizations.
It is unacceptable to encroach on the rights of pro-life organizations by forcing them to provide amenities they do not believe in. In this case, these Oklahoma universities, with the saintly help of ADF, participated in a country-wide campaign to resist the ever-present oppression of entities who fight for the preborn.
