{"id":2547,"date":"2012-03-15T18:13:54","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T22:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2547"},"modified":"2012-03-15T16:14:28","modified_gmt":"2012-03-15T20:14:28","slug":"jay-sekulow-taking-hhs-to-federal-court-in-defense-of-religious-liberty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-taking-hhs-to-federal-court-in-defense-of-religious-liberty.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Taking HHS to Federal Court in Defense of Religious Liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It is a tremendously important lawsuit. We filed suit today in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri on behalf of a St. Louis business owner and his company. Our argument\u00a0is clear: the HHS mandate, which requires employers to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs, violates the religious beliefs of our client.<\/p>\n

You may recall that there have been several suits filed nationwide challenging the HHS mandate. But this is the first complaint filed on behalf of a private business owner. We\u00a0represent Frank R. O’Brien and O’Brien Industrial Holdings, LLC\u00a0 (OIH) – a holding company based in St. Louis. O’Brien is chairman of OIH which operates a number of businesses that explore, mine, and process refractory and ceramic raw materials, with its products going to more than 40 countries. His companies employ nearly 100 people and this Catholic entrepreneur does not want to be forced, under penalty of law, to comply with a mandate that violates his deeply held religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

We’ve assembled a highly skilled legal team that’s working on this issue. The lawsuit, posted here<\/a>, contends that the HHS mandate “imposes a substantial burden on Plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion by coercing Plaintiffs to choose between conducting their business in accordance with their religious beliefs or paying substantial penalties to the government.”<\/p>\n

The lawsuit is beginning to generate news, in the pro-life media<\/a>, the St. Louis area<\/a>, and even garnering some national attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also read more about the case and our client in this news release posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The White House claims its working on a solution, but there are reports that there’s been no progress<\/a> in getting this resolved. And, just yesterday, we posted to our ACLJ website<\/a> an important look at how\u00a0more and more Americans simply don’t want this mandate, don’t want the government telling them what to do. Americans understand religious liberty is at stake here.<\/p>\n

That’s exactly why we’re in federal court in Missouri challenging this unconstitutional mandate. We will keep you posted on this very critical case.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a tremendously important lawsuit. We filed suit today in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri on behalf of a St. Louis business owner and his company. Our argument\u00a0is clear: the HHS mandate, which requires employers to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs, violates the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,54,28],"tags":[98,577,396,18,773,749,7,581,613],"class_list":["post-2547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pro-life","category-religious-freedom","category-rights-of-conscience","tag-federal-court","tag-free-exercise-of-religion","tag-hhs","tag-lawsuit","tag-obama-administration","tag-pro-life","tag-religious-liberty","tag-secretary-sebelius","tag-st-louis"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Taking HHS to Federal Court in Defense of Religious Liberty - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-taking-hhs-to-federal-court-in-defense-of-religious-liberty.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Taking HHS to Federal Court in Defense of Religious Liberty - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is a tremendously important lawsuit. We filed suit today in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri on behalf of a St. Louis business owner and his company. Our argument\u00a0is clear: the HHS mandate, which requires employers to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs, violates the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-taking-hhs-to-federal-court-in-defense-of-religious-liberty.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-15T22:13:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-15T20:14:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/11\/784314942-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jay Sekulow: Taking HHS to Federal Court in Defense of Religious Liberty - Faith & Justice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-taking-hhs-to-federal-court-in-defense-of-religious-liberty.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jay Sekulow: Taking HHS to Federal Court in Defense of Religious Liberty - Faith & Justice","og_description":"It is a tremendously important lawsuit. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2547"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2558,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547\/revisions\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}