Ave Maria U. to go forward with contraceptives suit after Supreme Court ruling

June 30--AVE MARIA -- The U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday recognizing religious freedom of some companies could be beneficial to Ave Maria University and its lawsuit against the federal government's rule requiring insurance coverage for contraception, Ave Maria officials said.

Monday's ruling that some companies cannot be forced to offer insurance coverage for contraception under the Affordable Care Act applies only to those for-profit corporations that are controlled by a limited number of shareholders.

Ave Maria is a nonprofit, faith-based entity.

Still, Ave Maria President Jim Towey said he's thrilled by the decision and hopes the federal government will act on its own to recognize religious freedom and rights of nonprofits and other faith-based organizations like Ave Maria.

"This is a great day for faith-based organizations and a sharp rebuke of the Obama administration and its treatment of sincerely held religious belief," Towey said in a statement. "People can disagree about the morality of contraception, and the federal government already has the ability to fund these services to whatever extent it wishes, but faith-based colleges and universities should not be compelled to violate conscience to carry out such a mandate."

Ave Maria filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Feb. 22, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, saying the mandate about contraception coverage was unconstitutional.

Two months later, Ave Maria discontinued offering health insurance to students after its insurance carrier notified Ave Maria that it was required to pay all students' claims for "preventive services."

In March 2013, a federal judge dismissed Ave Maria's lawsuit but permitted the university to refile if it objected to the government's final regulations.

The federal government issued its final regulations, which continued to exclude Ave Maria from an exemption and required the university to violate its religious beliefs or face fines, according to Ave Maria officials.

In August 2013, Ave Maria filed a new lawsuit against the federal government.

Ave Maria's second lawsuit was halted pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case by Hobby Lobby. The chain of craft stores sued the federal government, leading to the Supreme Court case involved in Monday's ruling. A second plaintiff with Hobby Lobby is Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., a Mennonite-owned cabinet company.

Towey said Monday that Ave Maria will resume its lawsuit unless the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decides to recognize the religious freedoms of nonprofits like Ave Maria.

"I just hope the HHS cuts its losses and creates the exemption that should have been provided from day one for faith-based groups," he said.

Ave Maria is represented in its lawsuit by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented Hobby Lobby in its case. The Becket Fund is a nonprofit public interest law firm in Washington, D.C., that focuses on protecting religious freedom.

"This is a landmark decision for religious freedom," Lori Windham, senior attorney with the law firm, said in a statement. "The Supreme Court recognized that Americans do not lose their religious freedom when they run a family business."

Windham said the ruling has implications for the more than 50 lawsuits brought by nonprofit religious organizations.

"The writing is on the wall," she said. "The court has strongly signaled that the mandate is in trouble in the nonprofit cases, too."

Towey said if the government doesn't provide an exemption to nonprofit groups like Ave Maria, the university has until Nov. 1 to comply with the contraception mandate with its insurance coverage for 170 employees or face hefty fines.

The university's health plan never included contraceptive services and it refuses to have the government interfere with its rights, Towey said.

Ave Maria could be fined $100 per person a day if the contraception mandate isn't dropped. Ave Maria was among the first groups to file a lawsuit against the mandate.

Posted earlier

Ave Maria University President Jim Towey said Monday the Catholic university is thrilled by a new U.S. Supreme Court decision about providing contraceptives, even though the ruling applies to for-profit companies, not the university.

Ave Maria is a nonprofit, faith-based entity. It will go forward with its own suit against the government over the issue.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that corporations can hold religious objections, allowing them to opt out of the new health law requirement that they cover contraceptives for women. The justices' 5-4 decision Monday is the first time that the high court has ruled that profit-seeking businesses can hold religious views under federal law.

"This is a great day for faith-based organizations and a sharp rebuke of the Obama administration and its treatment of sincerely held religious belief," Towey said in a statement. "The administration waged a 28-month campaign of harassment against Ave Maria that endangered the health insurance of our employees and forced us to expend massive amounts of time and energy defending our rights."

Ave Maria filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Feb. 22, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, saying the mandate about contraception coverage was unconstitutional. Two months later, Ave Maria discontinued offering health insurance to students after its insurance carrier notified Ave Maria that the university was required to pay all students' claims for "preventive services."

In March 2013, a federal judge dismissed Ave Maria's lawsuit but permitted the university to refile it if the federal government's regulations were objectionable. The federal government issued its final regulations, which continued to exclude Ave Maria from an exemption and required the university to violate its religious beliefs or face fines, according to Ave Maria University officials.

In August, 2013, Ave Maria filed a new lawsuit against the federal government.

Ave Maria's second lawsuit was stalled pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case filed by Hobby Lobby. The chain of craft stores sued the federal government, which led to the Supreme Court case and Monday's ruling.

Towey said Monday that it will reopen its lawsuit unless the federal government decides to use the ruling to provide an exemption to nonprofits like Ave Maria and similar entities.

"I just hope the (government) cuts its losses and creates the exemption that should have been provided from day one for faith-based groups," he said.

If the government doesn't provide an exemption to nonprofit groups like Ave Maria, the university has until Nov. 1 to comply with the contraception mandate with its insurance coverage for its 170 employees or face hefty fines, Towey said.

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