Baptist Press - Appeals Court Rules Against Abortion Mandate

By Michael Foust, BaptistPress.com

For the first time a federal appeals court has issued an order against the Obama administration's abortion/contraceptive mandate.

The one-page order Wednesday (Nov. 28) from a three-judge Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel prevents the government from forcing a Missouri business -- O'Brien Industrial Holdings, LLC -- to cover contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs in its employee health care plans as the appeals process is completed. The panel's temporary injunction came two months after a lower court tossed out the lawsuit. . . .

The lawsuit by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) says the mandate would force Frank O'Brien -- the business owner -- to violate his "religious beliefs and company policy." The mandate violates two federal laws as well as the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom and free speech, the suit states. If the court does not intervene and O'Brien does not follow the mandate, he would face steep fines. O'Brien's company and its subsidiaries employ about 85 people. . . .

You can read the entire story here.