Won U.S. District Courts

Foothill Church v. Watanabe

Church building

Summary

The California Department of Managed Health Care is forcing churches to pay for elective abortions in their health insurance plans. Its mandate forces all insurance plans to cover all abortions. The state doesn’t force churches to pay for contraceptive coverage but nonetheless requires them to pay for elective abortion coverage.

Press Releases

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May 12th, 2023
Forcing churches to pay for abortion coverage, violate conscience costs California $1.4M
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August 25th, 2022
Court: CA mandate that forced churches to cover abortions is unconstitutional
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April 4th, 2019
E-mails: California forced religious groups to pay for abortion coverage at Planned Parenthood’s bidding
October 16th, 2015
Churches sue Calif. agency for forcing them to provide abortion coverage

Case Documents

Court

Title

Date

Trial Court

Stipulation and joint request for court order re: the parties' settlement of plaintiffs' claim for attorneys' fees and costs; order

5/9/2023

Trial Court

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California order

8/25/2022

Trial Court

Plaintiffs' memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion for summary judgment

4/1/2022

Appellate Court

9th Circuit order

7/19/2021

Appellate Court

9th Circuit appellants' opening brief

8/14/2019

Additional Resources

One-page summary

Case Profiles

Jeremiah Galus

Senior Counsel

Jeremiah Galus serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Christian Ministries.