Geneva College wins temporary shelter from contraceptive mandate

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the contraceptive mandate to Geneva College on Tuesday. Geneva, a Christian school in Beaver Falls, Pa., affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, objects to providing the federally mandated insurance coverage to employees and students that includes Plan B (the so-called “morning-after” pill) and Ella (the “week-after” pill).

U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti had originally dismissed Geneva’s but then reinstated the suit in May after Geneva presented evidence that the school was already experiencing the effects of the mandate suit (see “Judge revives Geneva College’s contraceptive mandate lawsuit,” May 10). Conti did not explain why she granted the injunction in her court order, but she wrote in May that the federal government “failed to build sufficient lead time” for schools like Geneva to make plans for the mandate.

Federal judges have dismissed lawsuits from other schools like Wheaton College on the grounds they aren’t experiencing immediate harm from the mandate. Judges will likely decide on the merits of the ongoing lawsuits like Geneva’s after the Department of Health and Human Services issues a finalized contraceptive mandate in August.