STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Posts Tagged “SCOTUS”

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#LetThemServe! Support the Little Sisters of the Poor on March 23

Posted by John Jansen (March 17, 2016 at 4:14 pm)

little sisters of the poorPepsi 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 …]

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Huge Supreme Court Victory for Religious Freedom in Hobby Lobby Case

Posted by John Jansen (June 30, 2014 at 10:03 am)

Hobby Lobby Victory graphic

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 …]

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