March for Life Takes Abortion Conscience Case to the Supreme Court

Little Sisters of the Poor is not the only organization still fighting for its conscience rights to object to, and be exempt from, an Obamacare regulation forcing it to provide its employees with possible abortion-causing drugs and devices.
Another nonprofit organization, March for Life Education and Defense Fund (March for Life), has just asked the U.S. Supreme Court to protect its moral right to a conscience exemption from the same law.
The seemingly never-ending litigation involving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation, or HHS mandate as it was known throughout early litigation beginning around 2012 in cases such as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, continues on. These days, however, the issues and players have flipped.
In 2014, when Hobby Lobby was decided, the litigants primarily involved the Obama-era HHS, which issued the HHS mandate, and the secular and faith-based organizations and individuals who objected to being forced to choose between their conscience and their livelihoods and ministries.
These days, there’s a different administration in power in the nation’s capital. Under President Donald Trump, HHS revised its mandate to beef up conscience protections. There was little time to celebrate, however, as anti-religious, pro-abortion blue states immediately challenged HHS and its new exemptions in liberal courts and obtained nationwide injunctions prohibiting the revised exemptions from taking effect.
Organizations such as Little Sisters of the Poor and March for Life were allowed to join the lawsuits to protect their interests. That’s why those organizations are the ones bringing appeals to the Supreme Court.
March for Life is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). In a press statement posted on ADF’s website, Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said, “The government shouldn’t be forcing anyone to violate their conscience by providing drugs and devices that can destroy life. We are asking the Supreme Court to affirm the HHS protections, which ensure that pro-life organizations like March for Life and Little Sisters of the Poor can pursue their missions consistent with their beliefs.”
Little Sisters of the Poor is already at the Supreme Court. Two cases involving the nuns’ ministry and the revised HHS exemptions were accepted for review by the high court in January. March for Life not only asks for the same relief to be granted to it as the nuns receive (if they win), but it also asks the justices to look at a specific legal issue that it thinks precludes those blue states from suing HHS in the first place.
The case is March for Life Education and Defense Fund v. California.
Photo from March for Life
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bruce Hausknecht, J.D., is an attorney who serves as Focus on the Family’s judicial analyst. He is responsible for research and analysis of legal and judicial issues related to Christians and the institution of the family, including First Amendment freedom of religion and free speech issues, judicial activism, marriage, homosexuality and pro-life matters. He also tracks legislation and laws affecting these issues. Prior to joining Focus in 2004, Hausknecht practiced law for 17 years in construction litigation and as an associate general counsel for a large ministry in Virginia. He was also an associate pastor at a church in Colorado Springs for seven years, primarily in worship music ministry. Hausknecht has provided legal analysis and commentary for top media outlets including CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS Radio, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and BBC radio. He’s also a regular contributor to The Daily Citizen. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Hausknecht has been married since 1981 and has three adult children, as well as three adorable grandkids. In his free time, Hausknecht loves getting creative with his camera and capturing stunning photographs of his adopted state of Colorado.