The Obama administration has asked the public to weigh in on the five-year war it has waged against religious non-profit groups, including Priests for Life, over the HHS mandate. We’ll explain on this page how you can help in the fight for religious liberty by sending a brief message to the government.
Background
In August 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a regulation requiring group health insurance plans, including those of religious non-profit groups, to cover all federally approved contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs. This meant that groups such as Priests for Life, Little Sisters of the Poor, and Dioceses and Archdioceses across the country were being told they had to provide abortion-inducing drugs and devices, and contraceptive and sterilization procedures to our employees through our health coverage. Some of these drugs and devices kill a newly conceived life.
In February 2012, Priests for Life filed the fourth of what would become over 50 lawsuits against the HHS mandate. We argued and continue to argue that any scheme that forces us to participate in what our faith teaches is evil violates our rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
This year, our case and six others were heard by the Supreme Court, with the eight justices unanimously overturning all lower court decisions that had ruled in favor of the government. The Court sent the cases back to federal appeals courts for rehearing.
Significantly, the Supreme Court further stated that since an agreement between the Obama administration and religious non-profit groups that didn’t violate our religious rights is “feasible,” both sides should work out an accommodation that does not violate religious liberty.
This is not a compromise, nor has our position about it changed. That position is simple: we will not cooperate in any way with the government's plan to provide or expand "services" that kill babies or promote contraception and sterilization.
The government has responded not with its own proposal, but with a request to you and other members of the public to submit comments on how this matter may be resolved.
We now have until 11:59 PM on Tuesday, September 20, to submit our comments.
How You Can Help
The HHS Department is asking for the public’s suggestions on how an accommodation may be reached between the government and religious non-profit organizations. In the words of the Supreme Court, that accommodation should ensure that faith based non-profits’ “religious exercise” is protected while “women covered by [religious groups’] health plans ‘receive full and equal health coverage, including contraceptive coverage.’”
In other words, all the government has to do is come up with a plan that doesn’t require groups like Priests for Life to cooperate at all in evil; rather, we should be required to do nothing more than we already do, namely, to provide a health insurance plan to our employees that doesn’t include coverage for objectionable items such as contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization. We shouldn’t have to take any action that would trigger the provision of these drugs, devices, or procedures to our employees.
And that is the key message that the government must receive – religious non-profit groups cannot be part of the chain of distribution for sinful items. It’s vitally important that HHS officials hear from Americans that the right to practice our faith cannot be trampled upon by an arbitrary, unnecessary regulation.
The deadline for sending your comment is Tuesday, September 20.