WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland v. Kuderer
WHEN: Immediately following hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. PST, Thursday, Jan. 8
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse, Courtroom 2, Third Floor, Room 330, 95 7th St., San Francisco. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Media Relations Specialist Elizabeth Martin at (571) 541-7649.
SAN FRANCISCO – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Seattle-area church will be available for media interviews Thursday following oral arguments in Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland v. Kuderer at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. ADF attorneys are asking the court to uphold Cedar Park Church’s constitutionally protected, pro-life religious beliefs by exempting it from an overly broad state mandate that requires most Washington employers to provide abortion coverage for employees.
Senate Bill 6219, signed into law in March 2018, requires Cedar Park’s employee health plan to cover abortion if the church’s plan also offers maternity care coverage. Violators face fines and criminal penalties, including imprisonment. A district court first dismissed the case, which the 9th Circuit later reversed. The district court then ruled that forcing the church to include abortion in its health plan didn’t violate its free-exercise rights, prompting ADF attorneys to appeal to the 9th Circuit again in November 2023. After the 9th Circuit initially ruled unfavorably in March 2025, the court withdrew its opinion and call for further arguments.
“It’s unconscionable for the government to force any church to pay for abortions,” said ADF Senior Counsel Rory Gray, who will argue before the court. “The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that the government can’t compel religious organizations to act in violation of their sincerely held faith convictions. Cedar Park, which celebrates and protects life from conception to natural death, has fought long enough to practice what it preaches, and we are urging the court to finally resolve the matter and rule in favor of religious freedom.”
Cedar Park had an abortion-free health plan, but after Washington’s law went into effect, the church’s insurance carrier added surgical abortion coverage to its health plan to comply with the law. But Cedar Park’s insurer indicated that it would remove abortion coverage mid-year if churches obtained an exemption from the state’s abortion-coverage mandate. That exemption is what Cedar Park has been seeking in court for more than six years.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #
