Beckwith is the owner of Beckwith Electric, founded as a family business in 1967. The company, which has 168 full-time employees, produces micro-processor-based technology for power system generators, powers lines and transformers. The company also offers energy saving and voltage reduction strategies.
Beckwith has now filed the 50th religious freedom lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's contraception mandate. Issued under the authority of the Affordable Care Act, the mandate requires employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause early abortions.
A Southern Baptist, Beckwith believes that life begins at conception, and his religious convictions prevent him from offering or in any way participating in the provision of abortion or emergency contraception, which can end the life of a newly-conceived human embryo.
If Beckwith does not comply with the mandate, he could face over $6 million in fines per year.
The Southern Baptist Convention strongly opposes the federal requirement, saying that it is "a blatant assault on faith." The convention's declaration against the mandate adds that "the Bible is clear about the sanctity of human life," which is threatened by some of the mandated drugs that can cause early abortions.
According to the Thomas More Law Center, Beckwith lives his faith in both his personal life and his work, striving to "lead the company under God's direction and by God's principles," and offering a full range of generous employee benefits including health, dental, vision and life insurance, profit sharing, educational and travel assistance, paid time off and gym memberships.