U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly Mueller upheld a 2014 requirement of the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) that all employers throughout the state must pay for abortion insurance for their employees. She told the three churches that they failed to state an adequate claim.

The churches—Foothill Church in Glendora, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino, and The Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch—sued the state in 2014 after being informed that they could not prohibit or restrict coverage for elective abortions.

The churches "believe and teach that abortion destroys an innocent human life" and "participation in, facilitation of, or payment for an elective abortion is a grave sin," according to court documents.

The DMHC reclassified abortion as "a basic health care service" in 2014 under ObamaCare, making abortion insurance a mandatory provision for all business, regardless of the employer's sincerely held beliefs.

DMHC Director Michelle Rouillard explained in a letter to the Churches at that time that abortion must be legally equated with maternity care. Her decree noted that the state constitution criminalizes "discriminating against women who choose to terminate a pregnancy."

Rouillard's decree came after Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount Universities took abortion off their employee insurance plans, while still allowing employees to purchase the insurance on their own.

The Catholic universities later wrote to Rouillard about her DMHC decree conflicting with their religious convictions, but Rouillard refused to back down.

Under President Obama in 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services rejected Christian complaints that California required churches to pay for abortion insurance.

So far, seven churches have joined the two Christian universities in filing complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying the decree violates the constitutional rights of faith-based employers to religious freedom and equal protection.

The Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom assisted the churches in...

Continue reading here.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

An Easter Miracle!! 2nd Crew Member from Downed Jet in Iran Rescued and Safely Extracted after Intense Race to Reach Him before IRGC Terrorists

PRAYER ALERT: US F-15 Fighter Jet Downed in SW Iran, 1 Pilot Rescued and Safe; Search Continues for Second One

Dutch Sheets: Good Friday Message & Communion

'I Began to Pray': Pastor Talks Down Crazed Man Who Points Gun Directly at Him, Leads 10 to Christ

Trump HHS Renews Planned Parenthood Grants for 'Final Year' Due to Legalities, But 'Funds CANNOT Be Used for Abortions'

WATCH: Families at the Center of Washington State Transgender Sports Debate Stand Firm for Truth

Levin: Ruling Against Birthright Citizenship Should Be a 'Slam-Dunk' for Supreme Court [Video]

Colorado Appeals Court Reverses Tina Peters' Sentencing, Could This Lead to Her Freedom?

March Job Growth Triples Expectations, Unemployment Rate Dips

Artemis II Mission Pilot: 'We Need Jesus; Whether Here on Earth or Orbiting the Moon'

Democrat Lawmaker Steps Down, Says Faith No Longer Aligns with Left's Agenda

Trump Administration Charges 9 in Massive Massachusetts Fraud Scheme

ICE Finally Detains Notorious Hamas Fundraiser Salah Sarsour; Decades of Terror Ties Exposed as AMP Leader Faces Deportation

Johnson, Thune Hatch Plan to Fund DHS and Launch a Second Reconciliation Push to End the Dem's Shutdown

Pentagon Briefed Trump on Plan to Seize Uranium from Hands of Iranian Terrorist Regime

President Trump Reassures Americans: Iran Operation Won't Be a Forever War

Pam Bondi OUT as Attorney General

Countdown for Historic Space Mission Artemis II Begins

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Construction on Privately Funded White House Ballroom; Trump Responds

Trump Rolls Out a Plan to Back Farmers amid Rising Costs, Pledging 'Golden Age'