Wheaton College Joins Lawsuit Against the HHS Mandate

President Ryken and others with the Becket Fund team (Photo Credit: The Becket Fund)

Julia Polese

July 18, 2012 

Premier evangelical institution, Wheaton College (Ill.), has joined Catholic University of America in filing suit against the Department of Health and Human Services against the mandate requiring religious institutions to provide access for their employees to contraception and abortifacient drugs. In a press conference call hosted by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which will be working as counsel to Wheaton and myriad other religious institutions, Wheaton’s president Dr. Philip Ryken joined John Garvey, President of CUA, and Kyle Duncan, General Counsel for the Becket Fund, to address the college’s decision to seek legal action over the mandate.

In his statement, Dr. Ryken said that because of their evangelical Protestant conviction and the community covenant that is “very clear on the sanctity of life” faculty, staff, and students at Wheaton voluntarily sign, “we have no recourse now but to file this suit.” While some might say it is surprising that a thoroughly Protestant school would be filing with Catholic University – the only Pontifical institution of higher learning in America – is surprising, Ryken made it clear that those at Wheaton “have a respect for Roman Catholic institutions and, in this case, we recognize we have a common cause” with CUA.

Kyle Duncan of the Becket Fund emphasized the significance of an evangelical institution joining the lawsuit against the HHS. While high profile Catholic institutions like Notre Dame and Ave Maria University, Wheaton’s decision was crucial. It “demonstrates that the threat to religious liberty reaches across denominational lines.” Recently, several suits against the HHS were thrown out in Nebraska, but, Duncan said, they were dismissed on technicalities. The judges in Nebraska’s federal court claimed that the plaintiffs faced “no direct and immediate harm” from the mandate, but Wheaton is clearly “directly harmed by the mandate” and will be subject to the mandate “in a short period of time.”

President John Garvey of CUA was “sorry Wheaton has found it necessary to resort to legal action,” but that it seemed the only right recourse in light of the Supreme Court ruling. Garvey said that their decision to join the lawsuit emphasizes that “religious liberty is shared by all Americans” and is not just a Catholic issue. Furthermore, because evangelicals and Catholics have different views about contraception, it proves the rhetoric about “a fight over contraception” wrong.

In a question and answer period with the press, Ryken and the others fielded many questions about possible accommodation – a “compromise” – Obama promised in a speech in February. Duncan dismissed this as non-existent, saying “a presidential speech does not make law.” Additionally, “the accommodation sketched out is completely unrealistic, would force insurance companies to provide [these drugs] for free, and would not solve any of the religious liberty issues facing our clients.” Obama’s compromise was nothing but “smoke and mirrors.”

Because Wheaton did not qualify for the “safe harbor” stipulation that would delay the HHS mandate, Wheaton would face punitive measures for defying the HHS mandate as early as January 1, 2013. The “option for Wheaton is to accept punitive fines,” Ryken said, which could amount to “$1.4 million in fines per annum” for faculty and staff insurance alone. Ryken reiterated that there has been no accommodation for religious institutions and that “any accommodation that involves us in connection with an insurer that provides abortion services, still nevertheless implicates us morally in that action.” He used strong words for the proposal for accommodation plans so far calling it a “shell game that does not resolve the moral issue.” He said religious institutions like universities should not merely be accommodated, but exempt in the same way churches are. “None of the options are palatable for us,” Ryken answered when questioned about insurance options for the incoming class of 2016.

After today’s dismissal of the lawsuits in Nebraska, Duncan emphasized Wheaton’s clear and direct threat from the HHS mandate. An evangelical name on the lawsuit should redirect the discussion about the mandate to issues of religious liberty and encourage other denominations and faiths to join in the litigation.