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Posted by John Jansen (October 6, 2017 at 2:22 pm)
In 2012, hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers and people of faith took to the streets in a series of rallies to protest the HHS Mandate. Those rallies, held in hundreds of cities and towns across America, sent the message that we the people weren’t about to sit back and let the federal government trample our First Amendment rights.
Ignoring this groundswell of public opposition to the notion that employers should be forced to pay for insurance coverage for contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs, the Obama administration pressed on, refusing even to back down from a challenge mounted by the Little Sisters of the Poor. [Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | Comments Off on Rollback of HHS Mandate a Victory for the First Amendment
Posted by John Jansen (March 17, 2016 at 4:14 pm)
Pepsi is exempt from Obamacare’s HHS Mandate. So are other large corporations, including Exxon and Chevron.
But not the Little Sisters of the Poor. Their consciences notwithstanding, they’re still required to comply with the mandate’s requirement to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs to their employees.
In a pathetic attempt to extend an olive branch, the Obama Administration offered the Little Sisters an “accommodation” under which they could fill out a form noting their objection, which would then shift the coverage obligation to their insurance companies.
But this accommodation is a sham, because it still requires religious non-profits like the Little Sisters of the Poor to cooperate in a process that results in coverage of morally objectionable drugs and devices for their employee health plans. So the Little Sisters filed suit against the federal government, and their case will be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 23.
Prayer Vigils at Both Chicago Area Little Sisters’ Homes
On this date—four years to the day after the first series of nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies spearheaded in opposition to the HHS Mandate—the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League is co-sponsoring prayer vigils outside both of the Little Sisters’ facilities in the Chicago area while oral arguments are being heard in our nation’s capital. [Continue reading …]
Posted by John Jansen (November 6, 2015 at 2:09 pm)
Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the HHS Mandate brought by seven plaintiffs, most notably the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Churches and houses of worship are currently exempt from the mandate, but this is not the case for religious non-profit institutions. If groups like the Little Sisters do not want to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs to their employees, the Obama Administration offers an “accommodation” under which institutions are required to fill out a form noting their objection, which then shifts the coverage obligation to their insurance companies.
Supporters of religious freedom have rightly characterized this so-called accommodation as a “sham” because it still requires religious non-profits like the Little Sisters of the Poor to cooperate in a process that results in coverage of contraception for their employee health plans. As the Little Sisters’ brief to the Supreme Court said:
It is all well and good for HHS to think it has threaded the needle and found a way for religious nonprofits to comply with the mandate without violating their religious beliefs, but ultimately it is for the religious adherent to determine how much facilitation or complicity is too much.
Oral arguments are expected to heard in late March.
Tags: little sisters of the poor
Posted in Court Battles | Comments Off on Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Little Sisters’ Case
Posted by John Jansen (June 30, 2014 at 10:03 am)
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stunning decision today affirming the religious freedom rights of business owners, ruling in a 5-4 decision ruling that “closely held corporations” cannot be forced by the Obamacare HHS Mandate to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs to their employees.
In its opinion [PDF], the Court stated that the federal government failed to demonstrate that forcing private corporations to provide these drugs and procedures to employees—even if their owners have strong conscientious objections to them—is the “least restrictive means” of providing free access to them.
The decision in these cases, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius, was the very last decision issued by the Court this term, and it was surely the most anticipated decision all year. That being said, it’s hard to underestimate the significance of this ruling affirming the First Amendment rights of business owners.
“This ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby is a victory for all who cherish religious freedom,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League and one of the national directors of the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies. “The movement that began with hundreds of protest rallies outside federal court buildings has just won a great victory inside the nation’s highest court.” [Continue reading …]
Posted by John Jansen (January 10, 2014 at 10:42 am)
Recently Planned Parenthood sent out an email to their supporters highlighting their “Top 5” moments from 2013.
Considering how much time and resources the nation’s largest abortion chain put in to shilling for the Affordable Care Act/ACA/Obamacare, it’s no surprise that the ACA’s provision that employers—regardless of any conscientious objection—provide free contraception made the list.
Notice how Planned Parenthood framed it:
The ACA covers preventive care with no copay under all plans — meaning women get birth control with no out-of-pocket cost. Many women now have access to affordable birth control for the first time ever. There’s really only one response to that:
[Continue reading …]
Posted by John Jansen (October 8, 2013 at 8:00 am)
Last week began the implementation of the so-called Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), including its coverage for abortion, subsidized by us, the American taxpayers.
As the funding battle continues to rage in Washington, you’ll want to check out the resources listed below to help you get informed and fight back.
First, a coalition of pro-life groups has put together an easy way for you to write Congress about Obamacare and demand health care that does not pay for abortion.
Send your message to Congress here.
There you’ll also find a great flyer you can print out and share with your friends. It really cuts through the confusion and explains how Obamacare funds abortion.
Another great resource for understanding and explaining what’s wrong with Obamacare is a new website from Americans United for Life called REAL Health Care Respects LIFE.
Please take the time to write your Congressman today and take some time to educate yourself with these two great resources.
And please continue to pray that our government will stop funding abortion—and forcing us to be a part of it.
Posted by John Jansen (March 27, 2013 at 4:48 pm)
Before the dust had cleared following Kathleen Sebelius’ announcement of the HHS Mandate on January 20, 2012, opposition to this abject violation of religious freedom was already fierce.
The pushback against the HHS Mandate was most visibly seen in the hundreds of Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies held throughout the year.
And in unprecedented numbers, Americans registered their objections directly with the federal government.
The Sunlight Foundation recently reported:
Three years after Congress approved President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), contraceptive care remains its most controversial provision, drawing not only more comments than any other regulatory proposal on any subject government-wide, according to an analysis of federal regulations on Sunlight’s Docket Wrench.
More than 147,000 people and organizations have made their voices heard over the debate, most of them opposing the provision that requires that federal agencies have interpreted to mean that women have access to preventive services—including contraception—at no cost. The Catholic Church has led the charge, urging parishioners to write with messages such as “Pregnancy is not a disease, and drugs and surgeries to prevent it are not basic health care that the government should require all Americans to purchase.”
[Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | Comments Off on Record Number of People Voice Objections to HHS Mandate
Posted by John Jansen (January 23, 2013 at 3:12 pm)
This Friday, January 25, hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers will descend on Washington, DC for the 40th annual March for Life.
If you’re one of them, you’re invited to march along with Stand Up Rally co-directors Monica Miller of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League—along with a host of other Rally captains from across the country—under a huge “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” banner.
Meet at 1:00 p.m. at the southeast corner of Madison Drive NW and 7th Street NW [map].
See you there!
Posted by John Jansen (January 4, 2013 at 5:04 pm)
Earlier today the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Coalition encouraged everyone to take part in Standing with Hobby Lobby Day tomorrow, January 5.
Hobby Lobby’s owners, David and Barbara Green, filed a federal lawsuit over the HHS Mandate last year, but their request for emergency injunctive relief was denied by federal district Judge Joe Heaton, meaning that the Greens could face $1.3 million in fines per day for their refusal to comply with the Mandate, which went into effect January 1.
A fascinating article appeared in The Public Discourse this week that points out the rather frightening implications of Judge Heaton’s ruling, as well as another ruling by Judge Carol Jackson, who had previously dismissed another challenge to the HHS Mandate brought by St. Louis businessman Frank O’Brien. (Jackson’s ruling was subsequently overturned by the Eighth Circuit federal appeals court, but Heaton’s ruling was upheld by Tenth Circuit.)
The article is provocatively titled “The HHS Mandate and Judicial Theocracy.” In it, Dr. Melissa Moschella draws attention to the core of the argument put forth by Judges Jackson and Heaton and their respective decisions: [Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | Comments Off on The “Judicial Theocracy” of the HHS Mandate
Posted by John Jansen (November 1, 2012 at 11:19 am)
Election Day is only five days away, and there’s plenty of work to be done to make sure that pro-life, pro-religious freedom candidates get elected.
The difference in this election is going to come down to boots on the ground: volunteers who are willing to make phone calls, distribute voter guides, and utilize social media to get out the vote on Election Day.
This upcoming weekend is a great opportunity to get voter guides into the hands of your fellow citizens. Here are several that we recommend:
There’s also this flyer [PDF] available from Citizens for a Pro-Life Society titled “Why Respect for Life Is the Preeminent Political Issue.”
Find a flyer you like, get several hundred copies printed, and pass them out following church services—or simply deliver them door-to-door in your neighborhood. [Continue reading …]
Posted in Election 2012 | Comments Off on Do Your Part to Get Out the Vote
