On June 22, 2012 the 32nd General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church declared its affirmation of the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution of the United States, especially as the freedom of religious expression relates to abortion.

By the action of its Committee on Administration (COA) on November 21, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church joined other religious organizations in an amicus curiae (friend of court) brief in the case of Stormans et al v. Selecky et al, a case that is being appealed to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

At issue in the appeal is whether the State of Washington can force medical providers to furnish medical services and medications, in this case emergency contraceptives that may act as abortifacients, in violation of their religious beliefs. A federal court in Washington struck down the State’s regulations as a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the US Constitution. The State of Washington (“Selecky et al”) is appealing this ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court. The EPC joined the amicus curiae in support of Stormans, et al, the parties that filed suit against the State’s regulations.

In its “Statement of Interest” that was paraphrased in the amicus, the EPC declared it is “interested in Stormans et al v. Selecky et al because it [the EPC] is committed to protecting freedom of conscience as it is affirmed in the Bible and Westminster Confession of Faith, the doctrinal standard of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. This tenet is included in the Constitution of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Book of Government 17-5: “The Church may make no laws to bind the conscience with respect to the interpretation of Scripture.” On June 22, 2012 the 32nd General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church declared its affirmation of the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution of the United States, especially as the freedom of religious expression relates to abortion. Further, in response to the implementation of the Preventative Care Mandate of the Affordable Care Act, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church took the unprecedented step of declaring it “will join as amici curiae in pending or future civil actions to ensure the protection of religious freedom and rights of conscience.” It is the position of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church that the particulars in Storman et al v. Selecky et al are consistent with that of the implementation of the Preventative Care Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.”

Other religious groups joining the amicus include: National Association of Evangelicals, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, General Council of the Assemblies of God, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Queens Federation of Churches, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Anglican Church of North America, and the American Bible Society.

The motion the COA approved on November 21 read: “In keeping with the position adopted by the 32nd General Assembly, the COA approved the EPC joining an amicus brief in the case of Stormans et al v. Selecky et al. before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.”

The COA also expressed its gratitude to attorneys RE John Graham, RE Jim Rimmel, and RE Kent Talbert. They constituted the “Lawyers Group” that did an extensive study of the amicus brief and provided expert advice to the COA as it considered the invitation.

The amicus curiae the EPC joined (46 pages) can be accessed at www.epc.org/mediafiles/brief-of-amici-curiae.pdf. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

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