Washington state’s abortion mandate back in court

Years before Jay and Sandy Smith took pastoral roles at the Seattle-area Cedar Park Church—and before they were married—Sandy found out she was pregnant. Though Sandy was still in high school, the young couple decided not to abort the baby because they believed God alone has the right to give and take life.

Now pastors at Cedar Park, the Smiths remain firm in their pro-life views, even after a 2018 state law challenged their beliefs. For eight years, the couple has fought a Washington law they say forces their church to cover elective abortions in its employee health insurance plan.

On Thursday, the church returned to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, again arguing that the ministry should be able to follow its convictions freely. Rory Gray, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Cedar Park, said the church has the right to be exempt from the state’s overly broad law.

“People, especially churches, have autonomy to live according to their beliefs,” Gray said.

Cedar Park first sued the state in 2019 over the law. The mandate requires employee health plans that cover maternity care to also “provide a covered person with substantially equivalent coverage to permit the abortion of a pregnancy.” If a church refuses to comply, it could face fines and criminal penalties under the law.

Cedar Park said it had an abortion-free health plan, but Washington’s law caused its insurance carrier to add surgical abortion coverage to the plan. The insurance carrier will only remove the abortion coverage from the plan if the church obtains an exemption from the state law, according to Cedar Park.

The church believes every life is worth protecting, and having a plan with abortion coverage violates this belief, the lawsuit contends. The church noted that it upholds its views through several of its ministries, such as one that partners with local pregnancy centers and foster care providers.

Jay Smith noted in a statement to ADF that the state’s mandate compels “us to violate not just our conscience, but the rich tradition and history of our Christian faith.”

Cedar Park said it has looked for other health insurance plans that include only maternity coverage while excluding abortion, but it has been unable to find one that works for its more than 200 employees. The church blames that on the state’s mandate.

A U.S. District Court dismissed Cedar Park’s case in 2020, but the 9th Circuit later revived it. In 2023, the District Court found that forcing the church to include abortion in its healthcare plan didn’t violate its free exercise rights. Cedar Park appealed to the 9th Circuit a few months later.

A 9th Circuit panel initially ruled against Cedar Park in March 2025 in a split decision. The church asked the appeals court to reexamine the case, and more than a dozen states and multiple religious freedom advocates filed friend-of-the-court briefs in Cedar Park’s favor. Then in July, in an unusual move, the 9th Circuit withdrew its opinion and called for further arguments.

The withdrawal allowed Cedar Park to get a do-over in courts during oral arguments Thursday, Gray told WORLD.

During the arguments, Judge Susan Graber asked Gray why Cedar Park can’t find another insurance plan that aligns with the church’s beliefs. Gray contended that Cedar Park has looked for another eligible carrier for years but hasn’t found one that offers a plan comparable in price and coverage.

“The idea that we have to accept a plan that is hundreds of thousands of dollars more a year or isn’t fully insured and exposes the church to millions of dollars in risk is just not a legally sound argument,” Gray said.

Graber later said that the state’s law only places requirements on insurance carriers, not the church. But Gray replied that the law is set up as a “shell game” to negatively affect churches like Cedar Park.

On the other side, Washington Deputy Solicitor General Tera Heintz argued that the state’s law is not a “facade for religious discrimination.” She said the church should simply find another health insurance plan.

Judge Consuelo Callahan pressed Heintz on the neutrality of the state law, stating that the mandate seemed to burden the church. Heintz argued the law is not set up to treat the church any more negatively than secular organizations.

Reflecting on the arguments to WORLD, Gray disputed Heintz’s claim that there are other eligible insurance options for the church. He noted that while the U.S. Constitution is clear that Cedar Park has a religious right not to cover abortion, Washington’s law has found a workaround. Few states have gone after churches like Washington has done with this law, he argued. After California imposed a similar mandate, a federal district court in 2022 ruled it unconstitutional.

If the 9th Circuit ultimately rules in favor of Cedar Park, the decision could affect ministries across the state, Gray said. “They’ve been fighting for their right to live in accordance with the belief that life is sacred from the moment it comes into existence,” he said. “It should be very clear that Washington can’t do this, and we just hope that the 9th Circuit protects the church.”