This week on FOT: The California Department of Managed Health Care is forcing churches to pay for elective abortions in their health insurance plans.

While the Supreme Court is preventing the closing of abortion clinics in Texas (read), the California Department of Managed Health Care is trying to force churches (yes, churches) and other religious entities to pay for elective abortions (see story).

Casey Mattox

Leading the fight against the state’s efforts is the Alliance Defending Freedom and on Tuesday we’ll have ADF’s Casey Mattox to discuss this issue. Casey serves as senior counsel with ADF and his litigation efforts focus on sanctity of human life issues, including waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars by the abortion industry. Prior to serving with ADF, he litigated for the Christian Legal Society Center for Law & Religious Freedom, as well as the Rutherford Institute, and clerked for Justice Champ Lyons of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Commenting on this issue, Casey said: “The Obama Administration is once again making a mockery of the law, and this time in the most unimaginable way. Churches should never be forced to cover elective abortion in their insurance plans, and for ten years the Weldon Amendment has protected the right to have plans that do not include coverage for abortion-on-demand. But the state of California has ordered every insurer, even those insuring churches, to cover elective abortions in blatant violation of the law.

“The Obama Administration’s refusal to enforce this law continues its pattern of enforcing laws it wants to enforce, refusing to enforce others, and inventing new interpretations of others out of whole cloth. We will continue to defend churches from this clear violation of the First Amendment and federal law and call on Congress to hold the Department of Health and Human Services accountable,” he added.

In addition to Casey, we’ll also be joined by Greg Baker of the Family Leader to discuss its upcoming Fifth Annual Family Leadership Summit Saturday July 9 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, featuring speakers including Evangelist Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz.

Join Deacon Mike Manno and Gina Noll and Casey as they discuss these and other issues of interest to people of faith at 9 a.m. on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming on IowaCatholicRadio.com. The program will re-air at 9 p.m. and pod casts of our previous programs may be found here.

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