Anti-Abortion Groups Sue Michigan Over Law Requiring Them To Offer Insurance Plans Covering Abortion

Two organizations that oppose abortion are challenging a Michigan law that forces them to offer insurance plans that cover abortion.A conservative legal firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan on behalf of Right to Life of Michigan and Pregnancy Resource Centers, challenging changes to the definition of “sex” discrimination in the state’s employment law, so that it now prohibits “discrimination” because of the “termination of pregnancy.” The ADF says that the law “requires these organizations to offer abortion coverage in their insurance plans,” and forces them to hire people who support abortion access. Failure to comply with the requirements could lead to fines and a loss of state licenses. A senior counsel for ADF, Bryan Neihart, said in a statement, “It makes no sense to force pro-life organizations to hire employees who disagree with that view. Pro-life groups should be free to share the message of hope and joy with women and families experiencing a difficult season through employees who share their common goal.”“Michigan’s law forces these organizations to contradict their beliefs and to employ staff who endorse abortion,” he added.The lawsuit says that the plaintiffs do not include their mission statements in job postings, nor are they allowed to include a “preference, limitation, [or] specification” for employees with views on abortion that match their mission statements. The plaintiffs say that they have received applications from people who described themselves to the organizations as “pro-abortion.”Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, who is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. The ADF is challenging a similar law in New York, which was enacted in 2019, that it says also forces religious employers to hire people who disagree with their views on abortion. A district court judge dismissed the portion of the complaint alleging that the law violated the right to freedom of association. However, in January, a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived that part of the challenge.

Anti-Abortion Groups Sue Michigan Over Law Requiring Them To Offer Insurance Plans Covering Abortion

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