Media Advisory: Oral Argument for Class-Action Suit Against the HHS Mandate Set for December 16, 2013

Washington, D.C. – Becket will represent GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, Truett-McConnell College, and Reaching Souls International in their class-action lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. The class, represented by Reaching Souls International and Truett-McConnell College, includes 187 ministries that currently receive conscience-compliant health benefits through GuideStone, the health benefits arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. None of the ministries in the class qualify for the HHS’ narrow “religious employer” exemption, and all face enormous fines if they do not comply with the government’s mandate against their religious convictions. This is the second class-action suit to be filed against the administration’s HHS mandate.

What:
GuideStone Financial Resources and Reaching Souls International oral argument before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Who:
Adèle Keim, Legal Counsel for Becket

When:
December 16, 2013, 9:30am

Where:
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
200 NW 4th Street
Oklahoma City OK 73102

Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions—from Anglicans to Zoroastrians. For 18 years its attorneys have been recognized as experts in the field of church-state law. Becket recently won a 9-0 Supreme Court victory 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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