Media Advisory: Court will hear Texas Baptist universities’ HHS challenge on April 7th

Washington, D.C. – Becket will represent East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University in oral argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston on April 7th. Both liberal arts colleges hold their faith as central to their educational missions and so are challenging the government’s HHS Mandate, which forces them to violate their deeply held religious beliefs or pay outlandish IRS fines. The universities already won a victory at the district court in December 2013, and tomorrow, the Fifth Circuit will hear the government’s appeal of that decision.

Who:
Eric Rassbach, Deputy General Counsel for Becket

What:
East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

When:
April 7, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.

Where:
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
515 Rusk Street
Houston, TX 77002

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, please contact Melinda Skea at  media@becketlaw.org or 202.349.7224.

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Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. For over 20 years, it has defended clients of all faiths, including Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians. Its recent cases include three major Supreme Court victories: the landmark ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and the 9-0 rulings in Holt v. Hobbs and Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, the latter of which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”