Priests for Life
Friday, February 10, 2012
In a bold statement today, Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, denounced the Department of Health and Human Services contraception and abortion ruling as an abomination that must be immediately repealed or rescinded because it violates everything our country stands for.
"Despite the alleged compromise or accommodation, this is NOT just about 'religious' employers being affected,” Father Pavone said. “This is about ALL Americans being forced to pay for something that may be directly opposed to their moral convictions. There are many non-religious reasons to object to the Obama Administration's policy. Chief among these is the basic American principle of freedom of conscience. That means the government must NEVER do ANYTHING that requires people to violate their conscience.
“For tens of millions of Americans, the abortion pill is utterly repugnant. Being forced to PAY for it -- that is, so it can be provided for FREE to anyone and everyone via health insurance policies -- is clearly an outrageous abuse of government power."
"Religious freedom is not just for religious groups,” Father Pavone said. “It is for every American."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization that focuses on the sanctity of life from conception until natural death. Priests for Life on Thursday announced plans to sue the Obama Administration because the HHS ruling is unconstitutional on many levels.
Update on the HHS Mandate Situation
February 10th, 2012
Well, the events of the last couple of days have been pretty hectic, with what we and many others have been doing in response to the Obama administration trying to force the payment of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization on those who object.
As you may have seen, we at Priests for Life have launched a federal lawsuit against the administration to block enforcement of this policy and have it declared unconstitutional.
Last night, I was with Sean Hannity, who invited a group of religious leaders to discuss this issue. We taped a special edition of Hannity which will air tonight (Feb 10) at 9pm ET. Tune in! One of the questions he asked us is whether we would be willing to go to jail rather than go along with this policy.
Then, the events of today, and the so-called “accommodation” by the Obama administration, have raised many questions.
But don’t be fooled. It isn’t a reversal and doesn’t solve the problem.
First of all, as Congressman Chris Smith points out, if an organization is paying a health insurer and then the insurer is paying for the abortion-inducing drugs, then we as an organization are still paying for them!
Secondly, religious freedom is not just for religious groups; it is for every American. This is not just a problem affecting Catholic or other religious entities. It affects everyone. Employers have consciences, even if their corporation isn’t a religious entity.
And health insurers have consciences, too. How does a requirement that they pay for abortion-inducing drugs respect their freedom of conscience?
We’re still going full speed ahead with our lawsuit. Stay tuned for more details, and please support our efforts with your prayers and donations!
