The Little Sisters of the Poor fought Obamacare's birth control mandate all the way to the Supreme Court and won.
A small church in Washington just tried to walk that same road and got the opposite answer.
Two out of three federal judges just told Cedar Park Assembly of God its faith doesn't matter here.
How Washington's Abortion Coverage Mandate Bounced This Case Between Courts for Seven Years
Cedar Park Assembly of God in Kirkland employs about 140 people and holds to the same pro-life position as every Assemblies of God church in the country.
Washington's Reproductive Parity Act forces any employer offering maternity coverage to also cover abortion and contraception, or else spell out for employees how to get it elsewhere.
Cedar Park sued the state in 2019 rather than comply.
A district court dismissed the case in 2020.
The Ninth Circuit revived it a year later, only to watch a lower court rule against the church all over again in 2023.
A three-judge panel sided against Cedar Park once already, in March of 2025, then quietly withdrew that opinion four months later and scheduled a full second round of arguments.
The September 14, 2026 ruling in Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland v. Kuderer is the same court reaching the same result a second time.
What the Dissenting Judge Saw That the Other Two Didn't
Judges Susan Graber and Lucy Koh formed the majority and said Cedar Park never proved Washington's mandate was hostile to religion.
They pointed out the church could have bought a policy from a secular carrier that excludes abortion coverage entirely and simply chose not to.
Judge Consuelo Callahan dissented, and she didn't mince words.
Washington's law "burdens Cedar Park's religious exercise, is neither neutral nor generally applicable, and cannot satisfy strict scrutiny," Callahan wrote.
That's the exact same legal standard the Supreme Court used in 2021 to protect a Catholic foster agency in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, and one federal judge in this case still sees it that way.
Why the Supreme Court Has Sided With Religious Exemption Claims Like This Before
The Little Sisters of the Poor fought an almost identical battle for the better part of a decade, refusing to sign a form that would have let someone else provide birth control through their health plan.
The Supreme Court sided with the nuns seven to two in 2020.
Cedar Park is making a narrower version of that argument, that no government mandate should be able to force a house of worship to underwrite something it believes is the taking of a human life.
Rory Gray, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said Cedar Park believes life begins at conception and actively supports pro-life work in its community.
"No church should be forced to be complicit in abortion, but the state has gone out of its way to force churches to cover and pay for abortions through their employee insurance plans," Gray said.
What Happens to Every Church in Washington State If This Stands
Cedar Park is still evaluating its next move, and both a second en banc petition and a trip to the Supreme Court are still on the table.
If this ruling holds, every religious employer in Washington loses the argument Cedar Park just lost, not just this one congregation.
A mandate two judges couldn't call hostile to religion is still a mandate that tells a church exactly what it must pay for.
Judge Callahan's dissent didn't change the outcome, but it gave Cedar Park something to build the next appeal on.
Seven years in, this fight still isn't over.
Sources:
- Bridget Sielicki, "Ninth Circuit Snubs Church Seeking to Opt Out of Abortion Insurance Coverage Case," Live Action, September 2026.
- Staff, "Church Hits Wall in Quest to Undo Washington Abortion Coverage Mandate," Courthouse News Service, September 15, 2026.
- Staff, "Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland v. Kuderer," Alliance Defending Freedom, 2026.
