In a brief to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals last night, the government announced, “they have determined to augment the regulatory accommodation process in light of the Wheaton College injunction and that they plan to issue interim final rules within a month.”

Becket has led the charge against the unconstitutional HHS mandate winning a landmark victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and currently represents Little Sisters of the Poor along with many other religious ministries.

The following can be attributed to Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for Becket:

Yesterday, HHS told a federal appeals court that, once again, it plans to change the contraceptive mandate imposed on religious charities such as the Little Sisters of the Poor (see video).  This is just the latest step in the government’s long retreat on the HHS Mandate. It is at least the seventh time in three years that the government has retreated from its original, hard-line stance that only “houses of worship” that hire and serve fellow believers deserve religious freedom.

We are encouraged that the government is reviewing its policies. We hope the government will listen to the thousands of voices that called on the government to protect religious liberty. It’s time for the government to stop fighting the 30 federal court orders—including two from the Supreme Court—protecting religious ministries from the Mandate.

Religious ministries want to focus on ministry—such as sharing their faith and serving the poor—without worrying about the threat of massive IRS penalties. They are praying that the government’s new rules will allow them to do so.

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 two major Supreme Court victories: the landmark ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and the 9-0 ruling in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”

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