The Media Research Center (MRC) announced today that they have filed a lawsuit against the Obamacare contraception mandate. The MRC is attempting to affirm its "self-certification" that it is a religious organization and exempt from the mandate.
MRC refers to itself as "the nation's premier defender of pro-life views and Judeo-Christian values from attacks in the liberal media."
“This lawsuit is about religious freedom and the conscience rights of individuals to operate their enterprises free from government coercion, reprisal, or punishment,” MRC Founder and President Brent Bozell said. “The Obamacare mandate destroys the ability of free people to practice their faith in their everyday lives and forces them to either reject their faith or face crippling government imposed fines and punishment; in our case over $4.5 million dollars per year. We do not stop being religious, moral people the moment we walk out of our houses of worship.”
Obamacare exempts both churches and "eligible organizations" from the mandate. In order to be recognized as an eligible organization, an entity must be a nonprofit, oppose the Contraception Mandate on religious grounds, "hold itself out as a religious organization," and "self-certify" that the first three conditions are met. There is no clear definition for what "hold itself out as a religious organization" actually means.
A hearing is set for June 6. The case is Media Research Center v. Sebelius, et. al