OCA Joins Legal Challenge to Illinois Abortion Referral Law

A photo from a past March for Life in Washington, D.C., which included members of Orthodox Christians for Life. Photo: oclife.org

SPRINGFIELD, VA — The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has joined the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gračanica–Midwestern America, the Catholic bishops of Illinois, and the Illinois Catholic Health Association in filing an amicus brief in NIFLA v. Treto before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

The brief challenges an Illinois law that requires healthcare providers who do not perform abortions to nonetheless provide referrals to abortion providers and to deliver state-mandated statements promoting abortion in order to retain certain legal protections. The OCA said the requirement conflicts with the Church’s long-standing teaching that human life is sacred from conception to natural death and forces pro-life providers to speak against their moral and religious convictions.

In joining the case, the OCA emphasized that the freedom to speak and serve in accordance with the faith is essential to the Church’s witness and ministries. The OCA also expressed gratitude for the work of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and stated its hope that the court will uphold constitutional protections for religious freedom and the dignity of human life.

Previously, UOJ reported that Washington State attorneys filed a stipulated Order, agreeing to a permanent injunction against a law that would have forced priests to disclose information from the Sacrament of Confession.

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