Southern Nazarene University v. Azar

Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University are Christ-centered institutions of higher education in Oklahoma that hold deeply religious beliefs on the sanctity of human life. But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services required these schools to suffer extreme penalties if they did not include all FDA-approved contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs and devices, in their employee and student health plans. ADF filed a lawsuit challenging the mandate on behalf of these universities.

The Supreme Court consolidated this case with six others (including Geneva College v. Burwell) and issued a per curium opinion directing the courts to allow the parties to “arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners’ religious exercise.” Two years later, in May 2018, a district court enjoined the federal government from enforcing the mandate against the universities, permanently ending this attack on religious freedom.

Case timeline

• May 2012: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of Geneva College alleging the HHS birth control mandate violated RFRA.
• September 2013: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of Southern Nazarene University alleging the HHS birth control mandate violated RFRA.
• December 2013: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted ADF’s petition to halt enforcement of the mandate against Southern Nazarene University. On the same day, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania halted enforcement of the mandate against Geneva College. HHS appealed both rulings.
• February 2015: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversed the district court decision and ruled Geneva College had not shown that HHS had violated RFRA.
• July 2015: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed the district court decision and ruled Southern Nazarene University had not shown that HHS had violated RFRA. ADF appealed both circuit courts’ decisions to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• May 2016: The Supreme Court consolidated the two cases and five similar cases. The Court did not decide whether the HHS mandate violated RFRA, but it sent the cases back to the lower courts “to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners’ religious exercise.”
• May 2018: The district court in Oklahoma issued an order permanently protecting Southern Nazarene University from enforcement of the birth control mandate.
• July 2018: The district court in Pennsylvania came to the same conclusion and permanently protected Geneva College from enforcement of the mandate.