Date:
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
by Steven Ertelt | LifeNews.com | 12/8/14 12:30 PM
A Catholic religious order, the Little Sisters of the Poor, will appear before a federal appeals court today to
tell it to protect their religious liberties and prevent the Obama administration from making them comply
with Obamacare’s abortion mandate.
The mandate compels religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions.
Without relief, the Little Sisters face millions of dollars in IRS fines because they cannot comply with the
government’s mandate that they give their employees free access to contraception, sterilization, and
abortioninducing drugs.
Previously, the U.S. Supreme
Court temporarily protected the
Little Sisters from the mandate.
The Little Sisters are now before
the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Denver to extend that protection,
and their attorneys will present oral
arguments today.
“We are thrilled the Supreme Court
temporarily protected the Little
Sisters from having to violate their
conscience or pay crippling IRS
fines. We are hopeful the Tenth
Circuit will give them more lasting protection,” said Mark Rienzi, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for
Religious Liberty and lead counsel for Little Sisters of the Poor. “The federal government is a massive
entity that has lots of ways to deliver contraceptives to people–it doesn’t need to force the Little Sisters to
participate.”
The injunction from the Supreme Court provided the Little Sisters shortterm protection from being forced
to sign and deliver the controversial government forms authorizing, ordering, and incentivizing their health
benefits administrator to provide contraceptives, sterilization, and drugs and devices that may cause early
abortions. Instead, the Little Sisters simply had to inform HHS of their religious identity and objections.
Protection has been given to 18 of the 19 similar cases.
“Virtually every other party who asked for protection from the mandate has been given it,” said Rienzi.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Christianrun Hobby Lobby doesn’t have to obey the
HHS mandate that is a part of Obamacare that requires businesses to pay for abortion causing drugs in
their employee health care plans.
The Little Sisters are joined in the lawsuit by their religious health benefit providers, Christian Brothers
Services and Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust, and hundreds of similarlysituated Catholic
ministries that obtain their health benefits from the same providers. The Plaintiffs are also represented by
Locke Lord, a national law firm, and by Kevin Walsh, a law professor at the University of Richmond.
A December 2013 Rasmussen Reports poll shows Americans disagree with forcing companies like Hobby
Lobby to obey the mandate.
“Half of voters now oppose a government requirement that employers provide health insurance with free
contraceptives for their female employees,” Rasmussen reports.
The poll found: “The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 38% of Likely U.S.
Voters still believe businesses should be required by law to provide health insurance that covers all
governmentapproved contraceptives for women without copayments or other charges to the patient.
Fiftyone percent (51%) disagree and say employers should not be required to provide health insurance
with this type of coverage. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.”
Another recent poll found 59 percent of Americans disagree with the mandate