A preliminary injunction protects two faith-based groups from the latest blue-state effort to undermine pro-life efforts — this time by redefining workplace discrimination to force abortion-friendly hiring and abortion coverage in employee health plans.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker has blocked a hostile Michigan law that would have compelled pro-life organizations to hire staff who support abortion and to provide abortion coverage in their employee health insurance plans.
The opinion, issued July 10 in the case Right to Life of Michigan v. Nessel, also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Right to Life of Michigan and the Pregnancy Resource Center Grand Rapids. The court’s preliminary injunction grants immediate legal protection to these faith-based ministries, allowing them to maintain pro-life hiring standards and operational integrity as the constitutional challenge moves forward.
This ruling is an answer to prayer, but it should also serve as a wake-up call. It reveals a pattern where the state leverages unrelated laws, in this case employment law, to control Christian ministries and undermine religious liberty.
The Twisting of Civil Rights Law
This legal battle began with a deceptive amendment in Michigan that redefined “sex” discrimination in employment law to include “the termination of a pregnancy” for any reason.
Secular lawmakers, under the cover of workplace protections, set a legal trap for faith-based organizations. By treating opposition to abortion as illegal discrimination, the state tried to take away the right of pro-life ministries to uphold their biblical and moral convictions in their own hiring standards.
The consequences of this law, known as the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, were immediate and severe. Right to Life of Michigan, which stands for the preborn and supports the vulnerable, and the Pregnancy Resource Center Grand Rapids, which provides care and hope to women in crisis, were targeted by the state. Fearing harsh penalties, both groups stopped including their pro-life mission in job postings and even received applications from people openly supporting abortion.
If the federal court had not stepped in, the state would have had the power to force these ministries to hire abortion activists. Picture a crisis pregnancy center, devoted to helping mothers choose life, being ordered to employ someone who campaigns for Planned Parenthood. It would be like forcing a church to hire an atheist as a youth pastor. This would undermine the ministry’s mission and destroy the safe refuge it offers to women in need.
Demanding a Moral Impossibility
At the heart of this victory is a truth the secular world wants to erase: The messenger and the message cannot be separated within Christian ministry. A ministry cannot faithfully proclaim the Gospel of life if its own staff members are promoting a culture of death.
As ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart, who argued before the court on behalf of the pro-life groups, powerfully stated:
“The government can’t force pro-life organizations to sabotage their own beliefs by requiring them to employ staff who endorse abortion—a decision that harms women and ends innocent lives. The First Amendment protects the right of these organizations to hire employees who can carry out and share the message of hope and joy associated with the gift of life. For these pro-life groups, the messenger matters.”
This principle is protected by the First Amendment’s guarantees of free speech and religious liberty. Ministries and Christian organizations have the constitutional right to make sure their staff members share their core biblical convictions.
Both Right to Life of Michigan and the Pregnancy Resource Center rely on staff who share a firm, biblical conviction about the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Their teams must be united in these values to serve a hurting public and support each other in a challenging mission. Forcing them to accept internal opposition would destroy their unity and silence their Christian witness.
Michigan’s law went even further by trying to force pro-life ministries to pay for abortions through their own health insurance plans, making them complicit in the destruction of innocent life.
For a Christian organization, this is a moral impossibility. Scripture commands us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). To force a ministry that spends every day rescuing babies from abortion to then write a monthly check designed to enable abortion is a form of state-sponsored tyranny. It forces believers to actively participate in the destruction they are fighting to prevent.
With this injunction, the court has broken that trap for now. These ministries no longer face immediate punishment or heavy fines for refusing to pay for abortion. They are free to use their resources to honor God, provide real healthcare, and defend the unborn.
The Attacks Will Continue
While this is a major victory, Christians must remember that the war is not over. The U.S. District Court said the pro-life groups are likely to win in the end, but it has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to clarify how the law applies. After that, the case will return to federal court for a final decision.
Michigan’s attack should be a warning to pro-life ministries across America. Hostile state governments are routinely twisting the law and changing the definition of words like “sex,” “gender,” and “healthcare” to push faithful Christian organizations out of public life. New York, California, Illinois, and Delaware have tried to censor the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers, while New Jersey was recently slapped down by the Supreme Court for using investigations and subpoenas to tie up the work of pro-life centers and intimidate their donors. No doubt, pro-abortion states will continue to utilize new, nefarious “legal” tactics to harass and undermine pro-life efforts.
The Church cannot stand by in silence. We must strongly support legal groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty Counsel, First Liberty Institute, Thomas More Society, Becket Law, and others that work to defend Christian ministries in court. Churches must also review their own documents to ensure their statements of faith and employment policies are both legally sound and boldly biblical.
Most importantly, we must pray for the leaders of our local pregnancy resource centers, who face constant cultural and political attacks just for offering free diapers, ultrasounds, and hope to mothers in need.
Judge Jonker’s decision is a powerful reminder of a truth the Church has held onto for two millennia: The government has no right to claim ownership over our conscience. Now is the time for us to stand firm. Let us move forward with confidence, knowing that the same God who weaves every child together in the womb will give us the strength we need to defend life through our words and actions.
Every courageous stand for life begins with someone refusing to let the light go out. Your tax-deductible gift helps the Standing for Freedom Center expose attacks on pro-life ministries, defend religious liberty, and equip people to carry biblical truth into the public square. Give today and help ensure that those offering women hope can continue their life-saving work without government coercion.
