Jae C. Hong, Associated Press Supporters of abortion rights protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in West Hollywood, Calif., after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2022. The state of California will pay more than $1 million in attorney’s fees after losing battles with four churches over health care coverage for abortion services, according to the Christian Post . The churches — Skyline Wesleyan Church near San Diego, Foothill Church in Glendora, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino and Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch — successfully fought a state policy requiring employers to cover abortion in employee health plans. They argued the requirement violated religious freedom protections. In two separate cases, judges ruled against California officials, deciding that churches with faith-based objections to elective abortion procedures should receive a religious exemption from the coverage rules. U.S. District Chief Judge Kimberly Mueller, who heard the lawsuit involving Foothill Church, Calvary Chapel and Shepherd of the Hills, wrote in her decision that the state had failed to justify its claim that offering exemptions would create an impossible amount of work for the California Department of Managed Health Care, as the Los Angeles Times […]
