(LifeSiteNews) — A federal judge blocked a Michigan law that could require pro-life groups to hire pro-abortion employees. The law could also require pro-life groups to cover the killing of preborn babies through its health insurance plans.
Federal District Judge Robert Jonker ruled on July 10 in favor of Right to Life of Michigan and its challenge to the “Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.” Due to a regulatory change in 2023, Michigan now requires employers to respect an employee’s so-called “right to the termination of a pregnancy.”
The requirement sets up logically absurd conclusions, as highlighted in Jonker’s decision.
He wrote:
What if Weight Watchers—an organization devoted to helping people lose weight by changing their habits—were forced to provide weight loss drugs like Ozempic? Would that benefit not compromise the organization’s mission?
What if Christian Scientists—a group that believes in spiritual healing over medical treatment—were forced to provide health insurance? Would that also not comprise the group’s anti-healthcare mission? Or what if Not Dead Yet—an advocacy group that opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia—were eventually forced to provide euthanasia or assisted suicide services as part of its health care packages? Would that also not compromise the group’s anti-euthanasia mission?
The decision sides with the pro-life groups, which also include an organization called Pregnancy Resource Center, and establishes a temporary injunction. The Michigan Supreme Court must first address certain questions before the case can return to the federal judiciary.
Both Right to Life of Michigan and its attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom praised the ruling.
“The court’s decision is a welcome reprieve and reaffirms our fundamental right to hire employees who agree with our life-affirming mission. Any attempt by state officials to force organizations like Right to Life of Michigan to employ staff who do not agree with our fundamental mission is a wild misuse of power and defies common sense,” Amber Roseboom, Right to Life of Michigan’s president, stated in comments shared with LifeSiteNews.
She criticized “the radical abortion-only response to unplanned pregnancy that Democrats in our state continue to push.”
“Seeking to undermine organizations that offer life-saving choices is counterintuitive,” Roseboom said. “For choice to truly exist, every woman must have the opportunity to make a choice for life if she would like to do so.”
Alliance Defending Freedom echoed those comments.
“The government can’t force pro-life organizations to sabotage their own beliefs by requiring them to employ staff who endorse abortion—a decision that harms women and ends innocent lives,” ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart stated.
“The First Amendment protects the right of these organizations to hire employees who can carry out and share the message of hope and joy associated with the gift of life,” Neihart, the attorney for Right to Life of Michigan, added.
Pro-life groups must be able to “express messages consistent with their beliefs.”