Seattle-area church wins Ninth Circuit appeal on abortion case

(CN) — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal court erred when it tossed a Seattle-area church’s lawsuit that claimed a state law requires insurance providers to offer coverage for abortion services if they also offer coverage for maternal care. 

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that Cedar Park Church did have a right to bring a suit against the state of Washington for passing SB 6219, which ended up in the church losing insurance with abortion restrictions in line with the church’s philosophy. 

“Cedar Park’s complaint plausibly alleged that, due to the enactment of SB 6219, its health insurer (Kaiser Permanente) stopped offering a plan with abortion coverage restrictions and Cedar Park could not procure comparable replacement coverage,” the panel wrote. “This is sufficient to state an injury in fact that is fairly traceable to SB 6219.”

A federal court said the church did not have standing and should have brought suit against Kaiser Permanente, the insurer, rather than the state. The higher court disagreed. 

Attorneys for the church celebrated their victory in a press release. 

“No church should be forced to cover abortions, and certainly not a church like Cedar Park that dedicates its ministry to protecting and celebrating life,” said ADF Legal Counsel Elissa Graves. “We are pleased the 9th Circuit rightly recognized the harm that Washington state has inflicted on Cedar Park Church in subjecting it to this unprecedented mandate.”

Kaiser Permanente inserted coverage of surgical procedures for abortion after Washington state passed SB 6219. The church objected to the inclusion on religious grounds, saying abortion is a moral evil and that forcing it to contribute to the payment of something it holds as a sin represented an unconstitutional impingement on its rights of free exercise. 

At the time, Kaiser said it would only remove the coverage of abortion procedures if a court ruled it was necessary. 

“Washington state has no legal authority to force places of worship to fund abortions and violate their constitutional rights, as well as their religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate John Bursch. “Today’s decision is a big step forward in preventing the government from targeting churches and we look forward to continue challenging this law at the district court.”

The appellate court did not rule on the merits of the case, only that the church did indeed have standing and the case may proceed at the lower court level. 

The panel consisted of Circuit Judges Richard Clifton, Sandra Ikuta and U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, sitting by designation from the Eastern District of Kentucky. All three are George W. Bush appointees.

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