Judge Tosses Franciscan's HHS Mandate Lawsuit, University Vows to Fight On

Creative Minority Report ^ | 3/22/13 | Matthew Archbold

[marshmallow]

A U.S. District Court judge today dismissed Franciscan University of Steubenville's lawsuit against the HHS contraceptive mandate. This is not a defeat on the actual merits of the case but simply on the issue of timing or what smarty pants lawyer types call "ripeness."

“This is in no way a loss. The judge did not rule on the merits of our case and dismissed our lawsuit for ripeness, so Franciscan University has every right—and I would add, the duty—to re-file our lawsuit at the appropriate time,” said Father Terence Henry, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Last year, Franciscan University dropped its requirement for student health insurance due to moral and economic concerns connected to the HHS mandate. Shortly after that the faithful Catholic university filed the federal lawsuit against the mandate.

Father Henry took issue with the dismissal of the University’s lawsuit on the grounds of ripeness. “Franciscan University’s employee health insurance plans hold ‘grandfathered’ status, but this does not mean we have experienced no harm from the HHS mandate. Right now, being grandfathered ties our hands,” Father Henry explained. “Since many changes to our plan would cause it to lose grandfathered status, it denies both our employees and the University opportunities to save money and enact plan changes appropriate to our changing needs for coverage. In effect, this makes us second-class citizens because of our faith.”

[neverbluffer]

When are Conservative’s going to learn how the court system works today.

The courts are packed with Liberal judges...

Liiberals always shop for judges they know will favor their agenda, withdraw the laesuits when it is assigned to a non favorable judge and then re-file.

Conservatives have not learned to do this and trust the court systaem still works on impartiality.

[neverbluffer]

sorry for the typos...

[Palio di Siena]

These f’in fruits know about ripeness.

[Venturer]

Sounds to me like Ripeness is this courts answer to not having standing.

Just an excuse to not have to make a ruling.

[tflabo]

The judge Algenon Marbley, a Clinton appointee, decided that the Obama administration has promised to protect religious institutions by amending the regulations so the lawsuit couldn't go forward.

[STJPII]

My response to every ripeness argument; would you imagine a Federal statute which enacts separate but equal racial segregation laws in 2014 & 2015? Would any District Court judge honestly say that striking down that prospective statute fails under a ripeness standard? Why are religious liberties any different?

[little jeremiah]

Sigh placemark.