[1]NEW YORK (BP) — The president of Louisiana College says his school’s lawsuit against the health care law will go forward and vowed to defy the law even if the courts rule in favor of the Obama administration.
Louisiana College, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, filed suit against the federal government in February. The school believes the administration’s mandate that religious employers provide insurance that covers abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraceptives is unconstitutional.
“If the government continues to say that we have to do this, we will not do it,” Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard told Fox News. “There’s going to be, in my opinion, a constitutional crisis. We’re not going to do it.”
Aguillard’s comments came one day after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by seven states along with several religious plaintiffs who argued the mandate violated the rights of employers who object to the use of abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraceptives.
“People of faith shouldn’t be punished by the government for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations,” said Kevin Theriot, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom.
The ADF is representing Louisiana College in its lawsuit. They claim the mandate violates the Religious Restoration Act as well as the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
[2]“The sixth commandment says thou shall not murder,” Aguillard said. “The government is imposing their religion of murder on us and I think it’s time for the people of our country to wake up and stand together.”
Even if the courts rule against the college, Aguillard said, Louisiana College will not comply with the law.
“I guess President Obama will have to come down to Louisiana College with whatever means they want to stop us,” he said. “We are going to have, as we say in French, a tete-a-tete.”
The battle with the federal government has united the 106-year-old college, Aguillard added.
“They can’t imprison all of us,” he said. “They can’t fight all of us. We are greater than the Department of Justice.”
On Wednesday (July 18) Wheaton College, an evangelical school based in Illinois, joined the Catholic University of America in filing suit against the Obama administration.
“In this case, we recognize we have common cause with the Catholic University of America and other Catholic institutions in defending religious liberty,” Wheaton College President Philip Graham Ryken said on a conference call.
“We’re very clear on the sanctity of life, and this insurance mandate goes against our conscience,” Ryken said.
About two dozen lawsuits have been filed seeking to overturn the mandate.
Aguillard told Fox News his school is basing its fight on “almighty God.”
“We’re going to see where the Constitution stands with regard to religious freedom,” he said.
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Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard daily on Fox News Radio stations around the nation. He is the author of “Dispatches From Bitter America” and “They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick.” This article first appeared at www.toddstarnes.com [3]. Used by permission.