Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius

51 F. Supp. 3d 1052, 2014 WL 2804038, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84234
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 20, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-02105-REB-MJW
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 51 F. Supp. 3d 1052 (Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius, 51 F. Supp. 3d 1052, 2014 WL 2804038, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84234 (D. Colo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Blackburn, United States District Judge.

This matter is before me on the Plaintiffs Motion To Expedite Summary Judgment or, in the Alternative, For a Preliminary Injunction [#64]1 filed March 31, 2014. The defendants filed a response [#65] and the plaintiff filed a reply [#66]. Having considered carefully all relevant evidence educed, all reasons stated, all arguments advanced, all authorities cited, and all apposite law, I find and conclude that the motion for preliminary injunction should be granted.2 I deny the alternative request of the plaintiff for expedited consideration of its pending motion for summary judgment.

I. JURISDICTION

I have jurisdiction over this case under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question).

II. BACKGROUND

The plaintiff, Colorado Christian University (CCU), challenges certain requirements imposed on group health plans by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub.L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010) (Affordable Care Act or ACA) and regulations implementing the ACA. Specifically, CCU challenges the requirement that the group health plans for employees of CCU and for CCU students or, [1056]*1056in the alternative, another entity, provide coverage for drugs, devices, procedures, or related education and counseling that may destroy human life after fertilization of the egg of a mother and either before or after the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus of its mother. CCU contends that any participation by them in the implementation of this required coverage imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of its religious beliefs and violates its rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)3.

Included with the motion for preliminary injunction is the affidavit of William Armstrong, the President of CCU. Mr. Armstrong says CCU is “a ‘Christ-centered’ liberal arts university committed to offering a complete education that develops students intellectually, professionally, and spiritually. Although CCU does not affiliate with any specific denomination, it is united with the broad, historic evangelical faith.” Declaration of President William L. Armstrong in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [#64-1] (Armstrong Declaration), ¶¶ 5-6. “(A)s part of its commitment to a Christian education, CCU believes and actively teaches that each human being bears the image of God, and that all human life is sacred from the moment of conception. Promoting the sanctity of life is one of CCU’s Strategic Objectives.” Id., ¶¶ 13-14. The current CCU student health plan excludes coverage for abortions and all contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives. Id., ¶ 19. The current CCU employee health plan excludes coverage for all services, drugs, and devices that could terminate human life from the moment of conception, including medical abortions, emergency contraceptives like Plan B and Ella, and IUDs. CCU’s employee health plan does provide coverage for other contraceptives. Id., ¶20. Mr. Armstrong says CCU excludes these coverages “because their ability to prevent an embryo from implanting in the uterus ends an innocent human life. It would be a violation of CCU’s religious beliefs concerning the sanctity of life ... to deliberately arrange insurance coverage that facilitates access to abortion-inducing drugs and devices or related educational counseling services.” Id., ¶ 21-22. The CCU employee health plan is a self-insured plan.

The ACA requires many health insurance plans to provide coverage for women’s “preventative care and screenings [as] ... provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration^]” See 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-13(a)(4). The details of this requirement are expatiated in regulations adopted to implement the statutory requirement. 29 C.F.R. § 147.130(a)(l)(iv) states the basic requirement, with reference to other resources for the details. This requirement now includes “all Food and Drug Administration approved, contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.” Health Resources & Services Administration, “Women’s Preventive Services Guidelines,” www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines (visited April 10, 2014). I will refer to this aspect of the ACA and regulations as the Preventative Care Coverage Requirement.

CCU objects to a portion of the Preventative Care Coverage Requirement. The religious objections of CCU are limited to coverage for drugs, devices, or procedures that may destroy human life after fertilization of the egg of a mother and either before or after the implantation of a ferti[1057]*1057lized egg in the uterus of its mother, as well as any related counseling or education. The objections of CCU include surgical abortion, the so-called morning after pill, also know as Plan B, the week after pill, also known as Ella, and intra uterine devices. For purposes of this order, I will refer to this part of Preventative Care Coverage Requirement as the Mandate.

After the enactment of the ACA, the government adopted administrative regulations which provide a religious exemption from the Preventative Care Coverage Requirement. The current regulations provide an exemption from the Preventative Care Coverage Requirement for organizations like CCU. The exemption relevant to this case includes the following four criteria, all of which must be satisfied for the exemption to be applicable:

(1) The organization opposes providing coverage for some or all of any contraceptive services required to be covered under § 147.130(a)(l)(iv) on account of religious objections.
(2) The organization is organized and operates as a nonprofit entity.
(3) The organization holds itself out as a religious organization.
(4) The organization self-certifies, in a form and manner specified by the Secretary, that it satisfies the criteria in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section, and makes such self-certification available for examination upon request by the first day of the first plan year to which the accommodation in paragraph (c) of this section applies. The self-certification must be executed by a person authorized to make the certification on behalf of the organization, and must be maintained in a manner consistent with the record retention requirements under section 107 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

29 C.F.R. § 2590.715-2713A. An organization that satisfies these quadripartite criteria is an “eligible organization.” Under 29 C.F.R. § 2590.715-2713A (b), an eligible organization is deemed to have complied with the requirements of the Preventative Care Coverage Requirement.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Louisiana College v. Sebelius
38 F. Supp. 3d 766 (W.D. Louisiana, 2014)
Archdiocese of St. Louis v. Burwell
28 F. Supp. 3d 944 (E.D. Missouri, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
51 F. Supp. 3d 1052, 2014 WL 2804038, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colorado-christian-university-v-sebelius-cod-2014.