Geneva College v. Azar

Summary

Geneva College is a Christ-centered, liberal arts college located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. The government sought to force the college to compromise its deeply held religious beliefs on the sanctity of human life when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a mandate that required Geneva College to include all FDA-approved contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs and devices, in its employee and student health plans, or face severe penalties.

ADF filed a lawsuit challenging the mandate on behalf of Geneva College. In November 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the case and consolidated it with six other cases similarly challenging the mandate. 

In May 2016, the Supreme Court sent the cases back to the lower courts, directing the courts to allow the parties “to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners’ religious exercise.” The Court also forbade the government from imposing fines on the challengers for failing to comply with the mandate.

The case settled favorably in October 2018, after the lower court issued an injunction permanently protecting the college’s religious freedom. 

Our role in this case

Alliance Defending Freedom represented Geneva College. We defended its freedom to operate according to its deeply held religious beliefs.

What’s at stake

The freedom of religious institutions to operate according to their faith

The freedom from the threat of crippling fines for resisting illegal government mandates

The freedom for religious educational institutions to provide health insurance for their employees and students according to their beliefs

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Case Profiles

Gregory S. Baylor

Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Religious Schools

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