Lancaster County Wood Products Business Files Supreme Court Petition

Sep 19, 2013 | 1 comment

Seeks to Protect Religious Liberties Against Assault by Federal Government

            Conestoga Wood Specialties and the Hahn family, which owns the business, filed a Petition with the U.S. Supreme Court today, asking the high court to hear its religious liberty appeal.

The federal government is forcing Conestoga and the Hahn family to provide abortion-inducing drugs to the company’s employees, through the company’s health coverage plan. Government coercion of this kind violates the conscience of the Hahns, due to their religiously motivated pro-life convictions.

The Hahns contacted the Independence Law Center, seeking a way to be free from this onerous mandate. We filed suit in December 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The court essentially ruled that business owners forfeit their religious liberties. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

The Hahn family’s legal team is asking the high court to review the decision in order to vindicate the right of business owners to run their businesses according to their religious beliefs.

“If the government can force Americans to violate their conscience, our deepest, most heart-felt convictions, there is no stopping what government can do. If liberty isn’t preserved here, all of our liberties are in jeopardy,” said Randall Wenger, Chief Counsel of the Independence Law Center.

“The government acts like liberty is something it has the power to give or withhold. But our founders rightly understood that liberty is God given and should never be usurped by government,” said Charles W. Proctor, III, who argued the case in trial court and on appeal.

Because of disagreement among the Courts of Appeal and the important religious liberty issue at stake, we believe there is a strong chance that the U.S. Supreme Court will grant review and take this case. We are now partnering with attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Please pray that the high court grants review so that the rights of the Hahns – and all Americans – can be vindicated.

The Independence Law Center is a pro-bono, non-profit law center in Pennsylvania focused on protecting religious liberty. To donate to the work of the Independence Law Center, please visit www.independencelawcenter.org or call 717-657-4990.

For more about the Hahn family, go to http://vimeo.com/74728204