By Bob Allen Whether most Americans like it or not, the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — is now the law, and faith-based health care providers say it’s changing the way hospitals view patient care. A new…
SBC agencies support GuideStone lawsuit in contraceptive case
By Bob Allen Three sister Southern Baptist Convention entities filed a brief May 27 supporting GuideStone Financial Resources’ objection to being forced to indirectly provide what they regard as abortion-inducing drugs under Obamacare. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ethics and…
Faith leaders say Medicaid expansion moral issue
By Bob Allen Faith leaders urged voter awareness in 24 states that are refusing to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in a conference call with reporters May 29. “History has not been kind to governors who stand in…
Tennessee Baptist school fights Obamacare
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist-affiliated Union University filed a lawsuit April 4 challenging insurance coverage of contraceptives mandated for employers by the federal Affordable Care Act. The Tennessee Baptist Convention-affiliated school in Jackson, Tenn., joined numerous secular and religious employers…
“Corporations are people, my friend” — Hobby Lobby and religious freedom
Less than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s most significant legislative accomplishment, “Obamacare” is set to be back before the High Court next month. Oral arguments for Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores,…
Brief says Hobby Lobby puts RFRA on trial
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby claim in a Supreme Court brief filed Feb. 10 that mandated coverage of contraceptives under Obamacare is a textbook violation of a 1993 law enacted with broad support to prevent…
Scholar claims in legal brief that RFRA is unconstitutional
By Bob Allen Amid a flurry of legal briefs anticipating a Supreme Court decision this year to decide whether a 20-year-old law protecting an individual’s right to religious exercise also applies to corporations, one high-profile legal scholar argues the law…
ERLC supports Hobby Lobby in Supreme Court brief
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission joined other faith groups in a Supreme Court brief filed Jan. 28 arguing that for-profit corporations cannot be forced to pay for employee insurance coverage of contraception if their…
Birth control and the Bill of Rights
By Miguel De La Torre Is requiring corporations to cover birth control medication an attack on religious liberty? Or is claiming the protection of religious liberty an excuse to force one’s religious convictions on others? Should religious affiliated organizations —…
2013: The year in Baptist news
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship introduced Suzii Paynter as executive coordinator Jan. 17. The third person to hold the job and the first woman, the former director of both the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission was officially elected…
Court strikes blow to Obamacare
By Bob Allen A federal judge in Texas ruled Dec. 27 in favor of two Baptist universities who claimed in a lawsuit that Obamacare’s required coverage of birth control violates their religious liberty. United States District Judge Lee Rosenthal in…
Injunction granted in SBC health care case
By Bob Allen A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Dec. 20 prohibiting enforcement of the federal health care law known as Obamacare saying the Southern Baptist Convention’s insurance provider has legal standing to challenge mandatory coverage of contraceptives viewed…