EPC joins amicus brief supporting religious
freedom and rights of conscience
The Layman, November 30, 2012
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) signed on to an amicus brief in the case of Stormans et al v. Selecky et al, because the EPC “is committed to protecting freedom of conscience as it is affirmed in the Bible and Westminster Confession of Faith, the doctrinal standard of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.”
The case, being appealed to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, will decide whether Washington (state) can “force medical providers to furnish medical services and medications, in this case emergency contraceptives that may act as abortifacients, in violation of their religious beliefs,” according to a press release from the EPC.
A Washington federal court ruled that the state’s regulations were in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The state – or Selecky et al – has appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court.
According to the press release, the EPC joined the amicus brief in support of Stormans – or those who filed suit against the Washington’s regulations
The EPC’s 32nd General Assembly unanimously affirmed the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution of the United States, “especially as the freedom of religious expression relates to abortion,” read the press release. “Further, in response to the implementation of the Preventative Care Mandate of the Affordable Care Act, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church took the unprecedented step of declaring it ‘will join as amici curiae in pending or future civil actions to ensure the protection of religious freedom and rights of conscience.’”
The General Assembly action read in part, that the EPC:
- “strongly and respectfully objects to this government overreach and infringement of the Free Exercise Clause. It humbly requests the Department of Health and Human Services to rescind the offending regulation.
- “If the Department of Health and Human Services does not rescind the regulation, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church requests the United States Congress to take appropriate action to ensure the protection of religious liberty and rights of conscience.”
“It is the position of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church that the particulars in Storman et al v. Selecky et al are consistent with that of the implementation of the Preventative Care Mandate of the Affordable Care Act,” the pres released read.
Other groups that have signed on to the amicus brief include: National Association of Evangelicals, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, General Council of the Assemblies of God, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Queens Federation of Churches, The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Anglican Church of North America and the American Bible Society.
In its opening pages, the brief reads, “Like the Founders of our nation, we support a vigorous right to the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment – one that provides meaningful protections against laws and government edicts that seek to compel religious organizations and people of faith to act in violation of their deeply-held religious convictions. Consequently, we are concerned about the excessively narrow view of the Free Exercise Clause advocated by the Defendants in this case, and we urge this Court to reject it. Given its influence, the interpretation this Court gives to that vital constitutional provision will have serious implications for the religious liberty of these amici and their members – indeed, of all Americans – that reach far beyond the facts of this case.”
The EPC has more than 400 churches nationwide, with more than 130,000 worshipers attending. To learn more about the EPC, visit www.EPC.org.