Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life (PFL), today announced that Priests for Life has responded to the Obama administration’s latest HHS mandate maneuver with a supplemental legal brief filed with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Priests for Life’s lawsuit against the mandate is currently before that court, the second highest in the nation. Priests for Life was the first of the religious non-profit cases against the mandate to have oral arguments at the appellate level, back in May.
“The Obama administration keeps trying to put a new coat of paint on a house that cannot stand,” said Fr. Pavone. “The seventh and latest version of the HHS mandate is no different from the others that courts around the country have found unconstitutional. It is a violation of all Americans’ fundamental right to religious freedom.”
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is currently considering the appeal brought by Priests for Life and individual plaintiffs Fr. Pavone, PFL Executive Director Janet Morana, and PFL African American Outreach Director Alveda King. The lawsuit challenges the Obamacare regulation requiring religious non-profit organizations to violate their religious beliefs by participating in the provision of abortion causing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilizations to employees or face crippling fines.
“Priests for Life will not comply in any way, shape or form with this latest ‘accommodation’ which is, in fact, no accommodation at all,” added Fr. Pavone. “If necessary, we will take this fight to the Supreme Court. No American should be forced by the government to violate his religious beliefs, especially when the government can achieve its policy goals in other ways.”
“They say that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. By that definition, this administration should see a doctor,” stated Morana. “This new accommodation is the same as the old accommodation that the Supreme Court indicated was unconstitutional. Logic would indicate that a real change in policy should be in order, but logic doesn’t seem to enter into the equation here.”
“Why this administration is intent on coercing religious believers to violate their faith defies understanding,” added Dr. King. “The President could easily find alternatives to the current HHS mandate, but he seems intent on imposing his will. If the choice is between obeying God or the Department of Health and Human Services, we will choose God every time.”
