The Alliance Defense Fund  filed suit on behalf of Louisiana College, a private Baptist college in Pineville, Louisiana.  The lawsuit challenges the Obama administration’s unconstitutional mandate that religious employers provide abortifacients, sterilization, and contraception at no cost to employees regardless of their religious or moral objections.

On Monday, Louisiana College and ADF held a press conference in Alexandria, LA to discuss the federal lawsuit:

“The Obama administration has purposely transformed a non-existent problem–access to contraception–into a constitutional crisis, this mandate offers no choice; Americans either comply and abandon their convictions or resist and be punished, “ said ADF co-counsel Mike Johnson, who is also Dean of Louisiana College’s new Pressler School of Law, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2013.

Johnson went on to argue that, “The First Amendment protects Americans from forceful mandates that we act against our own convictions. People of faith shouldn’t be punished by the government for simply following their faith and be able to make decisions for themselves and their organizations in accordance with what they believe.”

Louisiana College’s President Joe Aguillard said, “Louisiana College will not sit by and allow this or any government to usurp our God-given religious freedoms and our time-honored Baptist heritage.”

The lawsuit joins others by organizations such as Geneva College, Belmont Abbey College, Priests for Life and EWTN Global Catholic Television Network.

On their website, the Alliance Defense Fund is calling on other groups to join the fight, “If you are employed by, or lead an organization that morally objects to the Obama Administration’s demands, you may be vital to the ADF legal defense against these attacks on religious freedom. Contact ADF and help us take action today.”