Tag Archives: ADF: Matthew S. Bowman

Breakpoint Radio (links to audio – 25:30 mins): John Stonestreet interviews Matt Bowman and Emily Hardman, two experts on the front line of the fight for religious liberty.

Matt Bowman at Life News: In the weeks before Christmas, many Christians read about John the Baptist in the Gospel of Luke. They see that ordinary people came asking John if it was possible for them, too, to prepare the way for the Lord. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers came as well, asking, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

National Catholic Register: Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of Christian attorneys formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, told the Register that the Dec. 18 ruling shows that religious nonprofits have standing “to protect themselves from bureaucrats that are attacking their religious freedom.” “It shows that federal bureaucrats who are trying to pick and choose what faith is and who can practice faith cannot do so without oversight to ensure they don’t trample on religious freedom,” said Bowman.

Matt Bowman appeared on Relevant Radio with Shiela Liaugminas to discuss the HHS litigation. | MP3 audio 11:41 mins

Matt Bowman at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Religious freedom won a victory in New York in the first week of December when a federal court ruled on behalf of the Archdiocese of New York and other Catholic entities and …

LifeNews: “Pregnancy centers, which offer real help and hope to women, shouldn’t be punished by political allies of abortion sellers,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman, co-counsel for the Centro Tepeyac Women’s Center. Bowman added: “Pro-life centers provide women with the emotional support and practical resources they need, giving them more choices. They should be free to share that message instead of being compelled to provide the government’s preferred message, which sends women elsewhere. The 4th Circuit panel was right to rule against Montgomery County’s law, and we trust the full court will agree.”

An Alliance Defending Freedom attorney will be available for media interviews following oral arguments by co-counsel Thursday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in a lawsuit involving a Montgomery County, Md. law that forces pro-life pregnancy counselors to advise women against using their services.

Matt Bowman at National Review: A court decision on Wednesday spells more trouble for Obamacare’s abortion-pill mandate. Defenders of that mandate have been crowing about two court rulings against Christian businesses, notably Hobby Lobby. But the government’s position is much weaker than its defenders let on.

Matt Bowman on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the Tyndale House Publishers case. | MP3 audio 9:50 mins

Catholic News Service: Matthew Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the Carol Springs, Ill., company, said in a statement that the judge’s ruling was the right one and that Bible publishers “should be free to do business according to the book that they publish.”

LifeNews: Attorneys Greg Jackson and Matt Bowman did an extensive analysis of the case and concluded it “did not legalize assisted suicide and it continues to carry both criminal and civil liability for any doctor, institution, or lay person involved.” The Montana Lawyer, the official publication of the Montana State Bar concluded the issue is open to argument, confirming that the legislature needs to clarify the issue this coming session.

Matt Bowman at Washington Examiner: Religious believers have something special to be thankful for this week. Last Friday, the judicial branch put the brakes on an attack against the very religious freedom that was the reason for the first Thanksgiving. That attack, sadly, originates from the White House. The good news is that the Obama administration has lost the first part of a case in which it was attempting to establish that the scope of religion in America is so miniscule that it does not apply to a devoutly religious Bible publishing company.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: Can an American citizen exercise his religion through his privately-owned business? The fate of Obamacare’s disturbing HHS contraception mandate turns on that question, and now the federal courts are split on the answer regarding an issue very likely to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court . . . Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)—the largest religious-liberty legal organization and network in the country—is representing several companies, and has won the first round in two cases so far. These are Newland v. Sebelius in Colorado, and Tyndale House Publishers v. Sebelius in D.C. In fact, ADF is representing companies in at least seven lawsuits, including two plaintiffs in my home state of Indiana. Thomas More Law Center is representing another early success, representing Weingartz Supply Company in Michigan, while the Becket Fund suffered an early setback representing Hobby Lobby. And yet another—Liberty Institute—is preparing to launch litigation.

Matt Bowman appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the Tyndale House Publishing ruling. | MP3 audio 8:15 mins

Matt Bowman appeared on the Georgene Rice Show to discuss the Tyndale House Publishing ruling. | MP3 audio 9:23 mins

EWTN: The D.C.-based legal group Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the company and its president and chief executive Mark D. Taylor. “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” the group’s senior legal counsel Matt Bowman said Nov. 16. “The court has done the right thing in halting the mandate while our lawsuit moves forward.”

Blunt.Senate.Gov: “Religious liberty isn’t about one group or one set of beliefs – it’s about protecting Americans’ First Amendment rights. This decision is a step in the right direction toward stopping the Obama administration from infringing on these fundamental freedoms,” said Blunt.

Religion Clause Blog: . . . Alliance Defending Freedom issued a press release announcing the decision, and the Washington Postreported on the decision.

Matt Bowman at Townhall: So whatever the Obama administration declares is secular is secular, because they said so. The areas of human life where people spend most of their waking hours—education, business, and healthcare—are, by edict, “secular.” And whatever is secular, the government controls. The Obama administration lost that argument unanimously at the Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor. Let’s hope they lose it again when the abortion pill mandate cases reach the high court.

Washington Post (AP): Matthew S. Bowman, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which brought the suit on behalf of Tyndale, said in an email that Bible publishers “should be free to do business according to the book that they publish.” He added: “The Obama administration is not entitled to disregard religious freedom.” The Health and Human Service Department declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

LifeNews: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman, who argued before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Nov. 9. Bowman told LifeNews: “The court has done the right thing in halting the mandate while our lawsuit moves forward. For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is startling. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

A federal court Friday stopped enforcement of the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate against a Bible publisher represented by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom.

One News Now: “The government went so far as to say that even if this were the church itself, it would lose its free exercise of religion claim,” he tells OneNewsNow. “This is a government that says that it can pick and choose what religion is, who can exercise religion and where they can exercise it, and can basically say that nobody can do it except in maybe in the four walls of your church — maybe not even then.”

LifeNews: Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Bowman. “For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is alarming. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes. For that reason, we are asking the court to halt this mandate.”

CBN (includes video): For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is alarming,” ADF Attorney Matt Bowman said. “It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

One News Now: Bowman adds that in this case, the government is “attempting essentially cut the First Amendment out of the Constitution.” “So that people don’t really have religious freedom anymore because the government has declared that they are all engaged in secular activities,” he continues. “That is something that is incompatible with freedoms that Americans have always possessed, and we’re hopeful that the court system is not going to let the government attack people’s religious freedom and force them to be involved in abortion pills.”

One News Now: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” Bowman contends. “For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is alarming. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews following his oral argument Friday asking for a court order to stop enforcement of the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate against a Bible publisher.

“The caring concern of parents for the health of their young daughters is more important than an abortionist’s bottom line. Montana voters have wisely passed this common-sense law to ensure that parents can protect their daughters from abortionists who prey upon vulnerable young girls. The voice of an abortionist should not be allowed more weight than the voice of parents when their daughter is pregnant.”

The New American: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal advocacy group, announced that it had filed suit against several federal officials and departments, including Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and her Department of Health and Human Services, on behalf of Grote Industries, an Indiana-based auto industry lighting manufacturer. “Americans should be free to honor God at work, at home, and at church,” said Indianapolis attorney Mike Wilkins, who is working with ADF to represent the firm against the federal government. “They have the God-given freedom to live and do business according to their faith. Forcing them to surrender their faith in order to earn a living is unprecedented, unnecessary, and unconstitutional. The Administration’s attacks on faith and business prove that it doesn’t respect either one.” . . . “The government has no business deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and when and where their faith may be lived out,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “Washington politicians can’t confine our faith to our homes and our churches. Honoring God is important every day, in all areas of life, including in our work. Freedom is God-given, not government-driven.”

Heritage Foundation: As Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for ADF who will be arguing at the hearing tonight, explained:Americans have the God-given freedom to live and do business according to their faith. The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for making decisions in accordance with it, and yet that’s what the Obama administration is trying to do here in Pennsylvania and throughout the country.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews following a hearing Wednesday in which he will argue against the Obama administration’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit against the president’s abortion pill mandate.

Matt Bowman at Townhall: The president’s agencies have written rules that render evangelistic publishing of the Bible to be, well, not really religious. To the people who drafted the ObamaCare rule, and its defenders, religion is little more than a target of derision and marginalization.

LifeNews: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Bowman. “For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is alarming. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes. For that reason, we are asking the court to halt this mandate.”

Matt Bowman appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss some of the whoppers being told about the HHS mandate. | MP3 audio 9:28 mins

Matt Bowman appeared on the Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio. An earlier report on the case appeared in National Review Online. | MP3 audio 10:26 mins

CBN (includes video): They just don’t want to have to provide abortion pills and other items in this plan that violate their faith,” Matt Bowman, with Alliance Defending Freedom, said.

Matt Bowman appeared on the Georgene Rice Show to discuss the Tyndale Publishing litigation. | MP3 audio 9:04 mins

Matt Bowman apppeared on Relevant Radio, A Closer Look with Sheila Liaugminas to discuss the HHS Mandate and the Tyndale Publishing Suit. | MP3 audio 24:05 mins

Matt Bowman on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss the suit. | MP3 audio 6:18 mins

Pro Life Blogs: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “To say that a Bible publisher is not religious is patently absurd. Tyndale House is a prime example of how ridiculous and arbitrary the Obama administration’s mandate is. Americans today clearly agree with America’s founders: the federal government’s bureaucrats are not qualified to decide what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

Baptist Press: In filing its appeal, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to make a living,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Matt Bowman. “That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

NRL News: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.” “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” Bowman said. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Christian Post: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman said in a statement. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

Citizen Link: “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately had its way,” Bowman said.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys obtained the first-ever order against the mandate on behalf of Hercules Industries and the Catholic family that owns it. The administration opposed the order, arguing, contrary to the U.S. Constitution, that people of faith forfeit their religious liberty once they engage in business . . . “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

LifeSiteNews: The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” said Matt Bowman, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow, “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith.” “The Obama administration claims it has unwavering support for religious freedom, but the only thing unwavering in the administration is its tenacious opposition to religious freedom,” the attorney asserts.

n contradiction to the Obama administration’s recent claims of “unwavering” support for religious freedom, the president’s lawyers filed an appeal Tuesday of a court order that upheld the religious freedom of a Colorado family business.

Acton Institute Blog: It is alarmingly clear that so-called “Obamacare” has troubling implications for parents and children, not just employers with religious convictions regarding artificial birth control and abortion. According to an article in the National Catholic Register, Matt Bowman, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Obamacare: “tramples parental rights” because it requires them to “pay for and sponsor coverage of abortifacients, sterilization, contraception and education in favor of the same for their own children.” [more]

Catholic News Agency: Matt Bowman, senior counsel for the religious liberty legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said the mandate “tramples parental rights” because it requires them to “pay for and sponsor coverage of abortifacients, sterilization, contraception and education in favor of the same for their own children.”

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paid close attention to arguments concerning the ordinance. “I think the court had a lot of good questions,” he says. “The judges disagreed with each other about some of the questions but they all had read the issues, and I think they were really confronted with the fact that to uphold this law you would have to allow the government to force people to say things because the government disagrees with them politically.”

Matt Bowman at Townhall: On Wednesday, Missouri lawmakers ignored the warnings of the Obama administration and overrode their governor’s veto to enact religious exemptions to the abortion pill mandate. The bill, which passed through the state senate on a 26-6 vote and through the house on a 109-45 vote, is now law in Missouri and provides citizens of that state with serious religious freedom protections. (also published at LifeNews)

Matt Bowman at LifeNews: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews immediately following oral arguments Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Pregnancy Care Center of New York v. City of New York.

Matthew S. Bowman at the Wassau Daily Herald: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

Frances Kissling, President of Catholic for Choice at the Wassau Daily Herald:

If you go
What: The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service will host a public forum on “Contraception, religious liberty and the Affordable Care Act”
Who: Professor Mark T. Brown will moderate. Speakers will be Frances Kissling, visiting scholar at the Center for Bioethics, and Matthew Bowman, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
When: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday
Where: UW Center for Civic Engagement, 625 Stewart Ave., Wausau.
The event is free and open to the public.

NC Register: “In my view, the administration is constantly changing the rule book in order to attack religious freedom in the broadest fashion possible,” asserted Matt Bowman, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of Christian attorneys. Alliance Defending Freedom was formerly called the Alliance Defense Fund. Bowman told the Register that government bureaucrats are “redefining what religious faith is and what faith organizations are.”

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman says the disputed mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “The federal government is bound by the strictest level of protection of religious freedom that exists under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” he asserts. “The government in this case simply is completely unjustified when it attempts to tell people of faith that they have to choose between serving the community and spreading the Good News on one hand, or facing crippling fines and penalties because the government wants them to participate in the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.” He says ADF is ready and willing to take these cases to the U.S. Supreme Court . . . [more]

National Review: “Every time the administration opens its mouth it changes its rules to attack religious freedom in a different way,” Matt Bowman, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom says of the bulletin. “Washington bureaucrats have no business continually picking and choosing what faith is and who is allowed to practice faith,” he continues.

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Matt Bowman regarding Thursday’s decision by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to review a three-judge panel’s decision in Centro Tepeyac v. Montgomery County and Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore.

The city and county of Denver proposed and drafted a proclamation honoring the 50th anniversary of Hercules Industries, the family business that sued the Obama administration over its abortion pill mandate, but rescinded the honor after the company won a court order in its lawsuit, which attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom are litigating.

LifeNews: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations. That’s why this lawsuit should not be casually dismissed as the Obama administration would like to see happen.” . . . “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. For the time being, Hercules Industries will be able to do just that,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman after the decision. Bowman added, “The cost of freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that will cripple their business if the Obama administration ultimately has its way. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that Washington bureaucrats cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living. Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

WorldNetDaily: Regarding the Denver case, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom represents Hercules Industries, and said the government mandate on contraception is blatantly unconstitutional, and he expects the case to be watched very closely by the Catholic Church and other challengers to the mandate. “This case does not involve stopping anybody from doing anything in terms of employees,” Bowman told WND. “What it involves is using Obamacare to impose mandates on families who are just wanting to earn a living, forcing them to violate their faith and to facilitate things that violate their faith simply because they’re Americans who want to have a business and follow their religious values.”

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: “The cost of freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that will cripple their business if the Obama administration ultimately has its way,” he adds. Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.” Clearly, the danger here is not just to one family business in Colorado – but to you, your family, and countless family business owners and employees throughout the U.S. Please be in special prayer for this crucial case and for our lawyers as they pursue this matter – and other pressing cases – in the courtrooms of America.

NC Register: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told Catholic News Agency Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties, while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

CNA: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told CNA Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

Wesley J. Smith at The Weekly Standard: A recent federal trial court ruling has warmed the hearts of social conservatives and civil libertarians alike . . . William Newland and his siblings, self-insuring owners of Hercules Industries, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning manufacturing company, did not appreciate being ordered by the federal government to violate the precepts of their Catholic faith. With the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom, the family members and their business (an S corporation in Colorado) sued, claiming (in addition to constitutional arguments) that the free birth control rule violates their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) . . . As Hercules’s attorney Matthew S. Bowman told me, “Apparently the only things a family business may legally pursue—according to the government—are profit and whatever else Washington bureaucrats decide to mandate, which in our case includes contraception, sterilization, and what many believe to be abortion-inducing drugs.”

NRB: As noted last week, Hercules Industries in Colorado went to federal court in search of an injunction to stave off the Obama Administration mandate . . . As of August 1, that new mandate is now in effect . . . The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) celebrated the day as a victory for women, but noted, “The Obama administration will continue to work with all employers to give them the flexibility and resources they need to implement the health care law in a way that protects women’s health while making common-sense accommodations for values like religious liberty.” In a blog post, Amy Payne and Sarah Torre of the Heritage Foundation responded to the HHS statement, “Religious liberty is a fundamental right guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution, not a mere ‘value’ whose worth is subject to devaluation by any given Administration’s policy.” | Original NRB report: Hercules Battles HHS

Matt Bowman appeared on the Victoria Taft Show to discuss the Newland case. | MP3 audio 8:34 mins

CBS 4 Denver reports on the Newland case. The Video is here.

Andy Newland and Matt Bowman appeared on Dateline Washington, Radio America with Greg Corombos to discuss the Newland ruling. | MP3 audio 7:05 mins

Hugh Hewitt at the National Catholic Register: With the help of the superb lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund), the Newlands sought relief from President Barack Obama’s mandate, citing both the protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the 1993 U.S. Constitution . . . The Newlands have shown the way and are to be thanked for their courage. Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom or other groups like the Becket Fund (which is representing the Register’s parent company, EWTN) will evaluate any case that any private employer may want to press to free themselves from Obamacare’s imposition on their genuine religious beliefs.

Matt Bowman and Andy Newland on the radio with Tom Lucero on AM Colorado, 1310 KFKA to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 11:43 mins