STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Feb. 9, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Priests for Life, a New York based international pro-life organization of Catholic clergy and laity, today announced that it will be filing a lawsuit against the Obama Administration in an effort to seek injunctive relief from impending regulations that would require the organization to pay for employee health insurance that covers abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.
The Obama Administration's rules -- recently brought forth by a decree from the Department of Health and Human Services -- are part of the controversial "ObamaCare" health insurance law (the so-called "Affordable Care Act") that was passed by Congress in 2010 amidst endless ambiguities, confusion, and false assurances by President Obama himself that it would never be used to violate any organization's or individual's conscience on moral issues.
Now that the new HHS rules have been formally issued, however, Americans of all faiths are stunned that the Obama Administration is going to require employers to provide health insurance coverage for certain acts that go directly against their consciences or religious beliefs.
The lawsuit will seek injunctive relief from the HHS rules -- first on behalf of Priests for Life, and hopefully extending universally since all organizations and companies will be affected by the tyrannical HHS decree. Priests for Life is particularly well placed to pursue this litigation because its primary purposes are to promote and protect life whereas the primary purposes of the contraceptive mandate are to prevent and destroy life.
According to Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, "It's unthinkable that President Obama would force Americans of any faith to violate their consciences. Yet here he is, arrogantly imposing these regulations that clearly discriminate against Catholics and all Christians, as well as people of any faith who believe in the sanctity of innocent human life. This has clearly become a human rights case -- and is no longer just a partisan political football."
Priests for Life has retained noted civil rights attorney Charles LiMandri of San Diego to represent them in their lawsuit against Obama. LiMandri achieved national distinction by saving the famous "Mt. Soledad Cross" -- a historic war memorial that had been erected on public property many decades ago, which local atheists sought to have torn down. He has also fought for the rights of San Diego firefighters who were forced to participate in a vulgar "gay pride" parade against their will or else face termination. He was also the General Counsel for the National Organization for Marriage -- California during the successful Proposition 8 Campaign to save traditional marriage.
LiMandri remarks, "This is the first time in history any administration has used brute force to compel someone to violate his conscience or moral convictions. It's unheard of. It's also antithetical to the core American principles of religious liberty and freedom from invasions of privacy. We intend to fight the ill-conceived HHS edict and challenge it on constitutional grounds. This case could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And we'll be happy to take it there if need be."
Priests for Life is the largest Catholic pro-life organization in the United States. It is a private association of the faithful and an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit educational corporation. Under the Obama Administration's new HHS rules, it is treated like any other corporation and therefore must comply with these conscience-violating mandates, decrees, and punitive measures.
Priests for Life applauds the members of Congress who have introduced legislation to address the HHS policy, and will also support the efforts of the Church, and many other groups, to pass such legislation.
Further details of the lawsuit will be forthcoming.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
