Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
Eternal Word Television Network, a Catholic broadcasting corporation founded by a nun, Mother Angelica, has sued the US federal government because the Obama administration’s birth control mandate will force it to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives and embryocides. Priests for Life, a Catholic group dedicated to pro-life work, including support for Catholic teaching against contraception, has announced that it will sue for the same reason.
Virtually every Catholic bishop in the United States who heads a diocese has spoken out against the Obama administration’s regulation that will force employers to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. Many have stated that they will not comply with the law. [ See Map of institutions resisting the HHS ‘contraceptive’ mandate]
Senators Joe Manchin and Mario Rubio have introduced “Bill S2092 -the Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012.” The bill is drafted to stop the Department of Health and Human Services regulation enacted by the Obama administration for the purpose of forcing employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and drugs. The bill offers protection to individuals and entities opposed to facilitating such services for reasons of conscience or religion.
The Attorney General of Michigan has announced that the state will file briefs in support of three court cases that have been launched to stop the Obama administration from forcing objecting employers to pay for insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. [News release]
The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association has protested the Obama admininstration’s plan to force objecting employers to provide insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens said that the regulation “violates the First Amendment rights and sensibilities of any individual or organization morally committed to life-honoring faith principles,” adding that it “tramples the conscience rights of health care professionals” and “fits a deplorable pattern of disregard for First Amendment freedoms.” [News release]