Biola, 1st Amendment, and the Affordable Care Act

Sdrawkcab. Oops, I mean, backwards. That’s how our government is interpreting and handling the First Amendment with the Affordable Care Act. To be specific, the mandate that “most new and renewed health plans” are now required to cover without cost sharing “all FDA-approved forms of contraception” has forced many religious organizations into an impossible situation—ironically, a situation that the First Amendment was designed to protect them from.

The First Amendment of the Constitution was designed to restrict and limit the government, not people or religious organizations such as churches, schools, and other organizations founded on religious beliefs. Here’s the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Biola University was founded, in part, on the Biblical and philosophical conviction that all people, born or pre-born, are created in the image of God, and therefore deserve our care, respect, and protection. Biola holds the religious conviction that that this personhood begins at conception, so ending a life post-conception is murder.

Therein lies the rub. The Affordable Care Act mandates that Biola contribute to insurance plans that provide the morning after pill, a “contraception” which works in part by irritating the lining of the uterus, preventing a fertilized egg from implanting and developing. This mandate would force the faculty, staff, and students of Biola to participate in what their religious convictions consider to be taking a life.

The Affordable Care Act has crossed the line, and I’m proud of the way my alma mater, Biola University, is pushing back. It’s not trying to be political, rebellious, or controversial. It’s dealing with a sticky, over-politicized subject with respect and conviction.

Check out the video of Biola’s President, Dr. Barry Corey, explaining Biola’s position.

For more information on Zeke’s writing, check out www.zekepipher.com, or pick up a copy of “Man on the Run: Helping Hyper-Hobbied Men Recognize The Best Things In Life.”