June 10, 2020 – Springfield, Illinois– In the aftermath of COVID-19 related religious liberty lawsuits, the Thomas More Society has now sued the State of Illinois to challenge a law requiring all health insurance policies sold in the state provide coverage for elective chemical and surgical abortions, with no exemptions even for churches.
On June 10, 2020, the Thomas More Society filed a complaint in the Sangamon County Circuit Court, charging the state with abuses of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act in relation to the abortion insurance mandate. The case was filed on behalf of a Baptist church association, a dental practice and its owner, and a freight company and its owner. The lawsuit charges that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, the Department of Insurance, and its director, Robert Muriel, have refused to protect the plaintiffs’ sincerely held religious beliefs, which forbid them from funding and providing coverage for elective abortions.
Under an expansive abortion law that was passed with a straight party-lines vote by Democratic state legislators and Governor Pritzker, the “Reproductive Health Act” mandates that every health insurance plan in Illinois that provides pregnancy-related benefits must also provide coverage for abortion. The law, rushed through the legislature over the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, requires private health insurance companies to cover abortion procedures, giving everyone who participates financially in that plan – employees, employers, and the company – no way to opt out. …
The case seeks judicial review of the abortion coverage mandate, asking the court to declare it unlawful, and also asks for an injunction prohibiting the State of Illinois from enforcing the abortion coverage requirements against these employers and their health insurance providers.
“This forced coverage of abortion is a blatant violation of the religious and conscience rights of Illinoisans,” explained Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel. “While the secular forces behind this mandate often erroneously object to any influence of religion on the state, here they had no hesitation in wielding state power against our sincerely held, common-sense religious beliefs, which compel us to avoid paying for health insurance coverage of abortion.”
Editor’s note. This is excerpted from an update provided by the Thomas More Society. The lawsuit itself can be read here.