A church near Seattle, Washington is being forced to violate the commandment “thou shalt not kill,” by subsidizing the murder of pre-born babies. 

Cedar Park Assembly of God sued Washington to stop a state law that requires churches to fund abortions in their health care plans for employees, reports LifeNews. If they don’t comply, the state will cancel their plan.

Their attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) argued the state’s so-called Reproductive Parity Act clearly violated Cedar Park’s constitutionally protected religious freedoms. The church was even backed by 18 outside states who support life. 

But after a lower court rejected their attempt to at least carve out a religious exemption to the act, a federal appeals court doubled down on its decision in favor of Washington. 

In a 2-1 ruling, the San Francisco- based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals claimed Cedar Park lacked the “necessary standing” to challenge the abortion requirement, because they can simply find a different plan that allows them to exclude the killing of babies. 

But finding an affordable plan that doesn’t require abortion coverage isn’t so easy. 

One dissenting circuit judge called Cedar Park’s situation a “Catch 22” between violating its religious and moral beliefs or canceling its health plans which would violate both state and federal law. 

“The 9th Circuit is way out on a limb here. Every other court to consider a similar case in the past—from district courts to the U.S. Supreme Court and even the 9th Circuit itself (as the dissenting judge noted)—has granted standing,” wrote ADF President Kristen Waggoner in a post on X.

I just learned that the 9th Circuit has issued a shocking opinion in the case of a Washington church that is being forced to fund abortion.

Cedar Park Assembly of God challenged the WA state law that requires nearly all health plans to cover abortion. In today's 2-1 ruling, the…

— Kristen Waggoner (@KristenWaggoner) March 6, 2025

She assured her followers Cedar Park’s fight isn’t over. According to LifeNews, they will appeal to a full court next.