Government Backs Down on Contraceptive Mandate
"There is no 'trust us, changes are coming' clause in the Constitution," wrote judge Brian Cogan.
The New York Archdiocese filed suit in May, objecting to the fines it would face under the mandate. According to Reuters, Cogan denied the federal government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that the archdiocese had sufficiently demonstrated that it "expects to incur nearly $200 million each year in penalties if it is forced to comply with the coverage requirement."
However, Cogan did dismiss claims from the diocese of Rockville Centre and its Catholic Charities wing.
Duncan says the D.C. appellate court's decision is "the same flavor" as the New York court's ruling.
"It's not enough for the government to say, 'Trust us,'" he said. "We don't simply let the government slide by on a problem when you're talking about constitutional rights."
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Welby Warner
It is sad that little is being said about the witness of the church in all of this debate. When we consider that Wheaton College, at the time they filed, did not even know that their plan was actually in compliance with the HHS mandate, would someone who is not a believer be convinced that Wheaton College is really honest and sincere in this dispute, and is concerned about its witness before a watching world about its witness as a follower of the one who said "I am the truth". The dispute appears to be about power over the actions of other people rather than the fight to be free to follow the commands of Jesus Christ. There is no law that prevents Mr. Ryken and all the members of the board of Wheaton from choosing not to practice abortion or any action that would offend their personal conscience. They seem to be fighting for the power to control whether employees will have the option, as is their right under the constitution, to make those choices themselves.
J Thomas
The title of this article is misleading. The government absolutely did not 'back down'. They pandered, with no substance. If they were to 'back down', they would need to throw out the abortion/contraception mandate all together. They did not do anything close to that. They just tried to use a technicality to push this back and try to keep it out of as many courts as they can. Shame on you, Christianity Today for spinning things like this to fool your readers.