Tag Archives: Topic: Conscience

The Hill (embedded video): President Obama on Monday made a campaign pitch to “people of faith” in which he reaffirmed what he called his “unwavering” commitment to “protecting religious liberty.”

ABA Journal: Justice Antonin Scalia was “enraged” when Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. switched his vote and created the majority needed to uphold the Obama administration’s health care law, according to a new book by journalist Jeffrey Toobin.

News-Leader: The suit was announced during a press conference in which College President Jerry Davis raised his voice on many occasions, saying the federal government health care act will require the school’s insurance to pay for abortions, abortion services and abortion counseling. “We believe it violates our religious rights as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Davis said.

Alan Sears at the American Thinker: Someone once famously distilled some two centuries of American debate over individual “rights” into a single sentence: “Your right to extend your fist,” he said, “ends about one inch short of the tip of my nose.”

Matt Bowman at LifeNews: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

LifeNews: Next month, thousands of pro-life advocates in more than 100 cities will engage in rallies to stand up for their religious freedom against the controversial HHS mandate the Obama administration put in place.

LifeSiteNews: The Obama administration is set to levy as much as a $1.3 million per day fine against a Christian retail business based on their religious objection to abortifacient drugs, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

Volokh Conspiracy: The Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a motion in its pending suit against Obamacare asking the judge (1) to rule that, when it enacted the Senate health care reform bill that includes a “tax” for not purchasing health insurance, Congress violated the Origination Clause, which says that all revenue bills must originate in the House; and (2) that their clients are under no legal obligation to purchase health insurance under the ruling of the Court.

STL Today: But just hours after lawmakers voted Wednesday, the new law was hit with its first legal hurdle. The Greater Kansas City Coalition of Labor Union Women and a female firefighter filed a lawsuit claiming that the legislation discriminates by sex and religion and that it goes against federal law.

Christian Institute: Fears that European judges could force churches to conduct gay weddings against their will are “legitimate”, Cabinet Minister Eric Pickles has said.

LifeNews: The Diocese of Nashville and seven of the Catholic entities operating in Middle Tennessee have filed suit in Federal court to block the implementation of mandates by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Matthew S. Bowman at the Wassau Daily Herald: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

Frances Kissling, President of Catholic for Choice at the Wassau Daily Herald:

If you go
What: The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service will host a public forum on “Contraception, religious liberty and the Affordable Care Act”
Who: Professor Mark T. Brown will moderate. Speakers will be Frances Kissling, visiting scholar at the Center for Bioethics, and Matthew Bowman, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
When: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday
Where: UW Center for Civic Engagement, 625 Stewart Ave., Wausau.
The event is free and open to the public.

Columbia Missourian: Missouri lawmakers enacted new religious exemptions from insurance coverage of birth control Wednesday, overriding a gubernatorial veto and delivering a political rebuke to an Obama administration policy requiring insurers to cover contraception.

LifeSiteNews: There will be no allowances made for conscientious or religious objection in upcoming French legislation instituting “gay marriage,” the French minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, revealed in an interview today.

LifeNews: The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and the business says it is opposing the Health and Human Services “preventive services” mandate, which it says forces the Christian-owned-and-operated business to provide, without co-pay, the “morning after pill” and “week after pill” in their health insurance plan, or face crippling fines up to 1.3 million dollars per day . . . Washington politicians cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living,” said Lori Windham, Senior Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is handling the lawsuit for Hobby Lobby.

MSNBC: The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday assured congressional lawmakers that agents would play no role in enforcing the controversial requirement that Americans buy insurance under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Jonathan Adler discusses the issue at the Volokh Conspiracy.

The Hill: Sister Pat Farrell, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, joined a group of 102 other faith leaders in co-signing a statement Monday that urges support for a larger Medicaid program.

The Thomas More Law Center, yesterday afternoon, filed its opening brief in support of its motion for a Preliminary Injunction to stop enforcement of the HHS Mandate.

Daily Herald: Wheaton College has appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking an exemption from a health care reform mandate to provide coverage for emergency contraception. A federal judge last week dismissed the lawsuit, saying it was premature. College officials chose to appeal because they said the mandate infringes on the school’s religious liberty.

Archdiocese of Denver: . . . When religious people are marginalized from the public square, all of us lose. Religious values (like those of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for example) have served as forces for great public good in America. Public shame of the religiously convicted undermines the American ideal. Sadly, however, Hercules is not alone in being marginalized; religious institutions and practices face increasing threats in America. Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Institute released a survey of religious hostility in America, documenting hundreds of unreasonable persecutions of religious Americans. It is a chilling read . . . When religious conscience threatens essential human freedom or dignity, governments have a vested interest in protecting public welfare. But the law which Hercules is fighting is not an assertion of essential human freedom or dignity. The HHS mandate is designed to fund private sexual expression—and even abortion—from the coffers of American businesses. Trading free access to contraception for our foundational reverence for religious liberty is a betrayal of our history—and a short-sighted plan for America. House Speaker Frank McNulty took up the mantle of Hercules’ cause, and rightly commended them for their work. I pray the Denver City Council will do the same. Choosing to marginalize the owners of Hercules for their religiosity is an insult to the founding values of our nation.

Alan Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss various cases and issues including Newland v. Sebelius. | MP3 audio 7:12 mins

The Hill: “For us Democrats, ObamaCare is a badge of honor,” Sebelius told the crowd.

Jim Campbell appeared on Vermont Public Radio to discuss the Wildflower Inn litigation. | MP3 audio 2:50 mins

World Magazine audio segment. ADF mentioned.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in a Washington state case, Americans United urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow state officials to enforce a rule that requires pharmacies to stock when locally demanded – and fill prescriptions for – the so-called “morning-after” pill, also known as Plan B.

JournalGazette.net: “Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs. Punishing religious people and organizations for freely exercising their faith is an assault on our most fundamental American freedoms,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor in a written statement. “This mandate leaves religious employers with no real choice: you must either comply and abandon your religious freedom and conscience, or resist and be taxed for your faith. Every American should know that a government with the power to do this to anyone can do this – and worse – to everyone.”

NC Register: “In my view, the administration is constantly changing the rule book in order to attack religious freedom in the broadest fashion possible,” asserted Matt Bowman, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of Christian attorneys. Alliance Defending Freedom was formerly called the Alliance Defense Fund. Bowman told the Register that government bureaucrats are “redefining what religious faith is and what faith organizations are.”

Dominique Ludvigson at the Heritage Foundation: Yesterday, Wheaton College appealed a federal district court dismissal of its lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its anti-conscience contraception mandate.

LifeNews: Democrats at the 2012 Democratic National Convention are set to approve a platform today that is unambiguously pro-abortion and opposes any effort whatsoever to stop any abortions. The platform also calls on forcing Americans to pay for abortions at taxpayer expense.

The Christian Institute: Britain’s best-known legal journalist, Joshua Rozenberg, has previewed the case of Lillian Ladele which is being heard by the European Court of Human Rights next week. His preview has been published by the Law Society Gazette. You can read his article in full on their website.

Andy Newland at the Washington Times: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, we asked for an injunction that would block enforcement of the mandate while our lawsuit proceeds. A federal judge granted that injunction — the first legal victory of its kind against the abortion-pill mandate — and it was at that point, interestingly, that Denver city officials decided a proclamation honoring our company was no longer in order.

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman says the disputed mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “The federal government is bound by the strictest level of protection of religious freedom that exists under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” he asserts. “The government in this case simply is completely unjustified when it attempts to tell people of faith that they have to choose between serving the community and spreading the Good News on one hand, or facing crippling fines and penalties because the government wants them to participate in the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.” He says ADF is ready and willing to take these cases to the U.S. Supreme Court . . . [more]

Bridgett Amiri writes at the ACLU Blog: Religion Doesn’t Justify Discrimination: ACLU Files Brief in Third Contraception Rule Challenge “Another private company – this one sells lawn and snow removal equipment in Michigan – is challenging the federal rule that …

Religion Clause Blog: According to Tuesday’s Santa Fe New Mexican, the New Mexico Department of Health has changed the form that parents must file to make clear that philosophical, rather than religious, beliefs are not a basis for exemption.

Jim Campbell appeared on the Georgene Rice Show to discuss the Wildflower Inn Case and other issues. | MP3 audio 10:49 mins

LifeSiteNews: After the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) voted two weeks ago to support the wording of the country’s Criminal Code which states that a baby becomes a “human being” only after being born, LifeSiteNews decided to track down where the CMA stands with regard to conscious rights for doctors who believe that babies are human before being born and want nothing to do with abortion.

LifeNews: The Obama administration has reportedly revised the controversial pro-abortion HHS mandate a third time, though it still fails to offer protection for religious groups not wanting to refer women for abortion-causing drugs or pay for them.

Daily Mail: A bill prohibiting the use of controversial therapy aimed at ‘curing’ homosexuality on gay teenagers has been approved by California’s Assembly, bringing the state a step closer to becoming the first in the U.S. to outlaw the practice.

Human Events: Hercules Industries of Denver, Colorado is a successful 50-year-old heating and air-conditioning company, which was due to receive a Good Citizenship Award from the city for their many contributions to the community. The generous health care plan offered to their 265 employees, which a Denver Post editorial noted includes “premium benefits for pregnancy, women’s wellness and risk reduction,” was also cited in the proposed award. But Hercules Industries is owned by a Catholic family, the Newlands. They objected to ObamaCare’s outrageous imposition on their religious liberty.

Religion Clause Blog: In Wheaton College v. Sebelius, (D DC, Aug. 24,2012), the D.C. federal district court dismissed for lack of standing and ripeness a challenge by Wheaton College to the mandate issued under the Affordable Care Act requiring group health insurance policies to cover contraceptive services for women.

Jim Campbell appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the Wildflower Inn Case and other issues. | MP3 audio 11:12 mins

Jim Campbell appeared on the Drew Mariani Show to discuss the Wildflower Inn Case and other issues. | MP3 audio 11:16 mins

Engage Family Minute: The American Dream has promised that we are given the freedom to pursue happiness. Many have realized that dream through the growth of their small business. But, what if the government says that you can only pursue the American Dream if that dream is entirely secular? As Senior Counsel to the Alliance Defending Freedom and former U.S. Attorney, Mike Norton, points out, for one Colorado small business owner, the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., “Obamacare”) has done just that.

LifeNews: “Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs. Punishing religious people and organizations for freely exercising their faith is an assault on our most fundamental American freedoms,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor. “This mandate leaves religious employers with no real choice: you must either comply and abandon your religious freedom and conscience, or resist and be taxed for your faith. Every American should know that a government with the power to do this to anyone can do this–and worse–to everyone.”

Sarah Torre at The Heritage Foundation: “Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs. Punishing religious people and organizations for freely exercising their faith is an assault on our most fundamental American freedoms,” explained ADF senior counsel Greg Baylor . . . As Baylor stated, “Every American should know that a government with the power to do this to anyone can do this—and worse—to everyone.”

Catholic Culture: Some 79 members of the US House of Representatives have signed amicus curiae briefs in support of the 40 Catholic institutions that have brought suit to halt enforcement of the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate.

Vermont NPR (includes audio): Their attorney, Jim Campbell, works for an Arizona-based religious advocacy group called Alliance Defending Freedom, and he still sees the lawsuit as an attack on their constitutional rights. “Every American should be free to live and do business consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs,” Campbell says. “And legal attacks like this one are not pursuits for justice but attempts to coerce and police a private business’s expressions.” But Campbell also says the innkeepers were eager to move on with their business and lives, without violating state law.

Highland Community News: “Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs. Punishing religious people and organizations for freely exercising their faith is an assault on our most fundamental American freedoms,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor. “This mandate leaves religious employers with no real choice: you must either comply and abandon your religious freedom and conscience, or resist and be taxed for your faith. Every American should know that a government with the power to do this to anyone can do this–and worse–to everyone.” “The Obama administration’s mandate forces us to act against our own doctrinal statement, which upholds the sanctity of human life,” said Biola University President Barry H. Corey. “It unjustly intrudes on our religious liberty as protected under the U.S. Constitution and makes a mockery of our attempts to live our lives according to our faith convictions, time-honored and long protected.”

CBN: “Christian colleges should remain free to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs. Punishing religious people and organizations for freely exercising their faith is an assault on our most fundamental American freedoms,” ADF Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor said. “This mandate leaves religious employers with no real choice: you must either comply and abandon your religious freedom and conscience, or resist and be taxed for your faith,” he continued. “Every American should know that a government with the power to do this to anyone can do this-and worse-to everyone,” he said.

AP: Jim Campbell of the Alliance Defending Freedom says an employee acting without the owners’ OK said Katherine Baker and Ming Linsley couldn’t hold their event at the Lyndonville facility.

Alliance Defending Freedom represents Grace College and Seminary, Biola University

State human rights commission, ACLU finally call off attack on small bed-and-breakfast

Fox News Insider (includes video): Greg Baylor, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “We can all agree that politicians shouldn’t use someone’s faith or their stand for freedom to deny them recognition for the good service that they’ve provided to their community.

Denver Post Editorial: A proclamation honoring a 50-year-old Denver business was pulled by its sponsor last week after she learned that the company opposed a provision of federal health reform requiring insurance coverage to include no-cost access to contraception and other preventive care.
In scuttling the proclamation, Denver city councilwoman Robin Kniech noted that it’s “silly season,” meaning that political disagreements are amplified in anticipation of the November election. In our view, her decision only makes things sillier.

Michael Norton at the Denver Post: Re: “Finding middle ground on contraception coverage,” Aug. 5 editorial. The Post’s editorial incorrectly concluded that “a suitable compromise” to a court order prohibiting enforcement of Obamacare and its abortion pill mandate against Hercules Industries would be to require Hercules’ insurance company to provide such abortion pill coverage.

National Review: “Every time the administration opens its mouth it changes its rules to attack religious freedom in a different way,” Matt Bowman, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom says of the bulletin. “Washington bureaucrats have no business continually picking and choosing what faith is and who is allowed to practice faith,” he continues.

Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: His explanation to his puzzled friend is that Liddell’s commitment as a runner is an extension of who he is and what he believes; the attempt to sever him from the source of his greatness was both foolish and morally wrong. That’s an important lesson many on the left fail to learn as they blithely cast aside religious liberty and rights of conscience for others

Greg Baylor appeared on the Drew Mariana Show to discuss the Newland litigation. | MP3 audio 11:23 mins

Citizen Link: “It’s sad when the very values that drive a family to serve others are used to try to disgrace them,” said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the family in its lawsuit. “The city council saw this family’s contributions, but then said ‘no honors for you’ because Hercules’ leaders took a principled stand for freedom of religion and conscience. That makes the Newlands more worthy of respect, not less so.”

Alan Sears at the Daily Caller: Not long ago, Denver officials announced their intention to honor 50 years of distinguished service to their community by Hercules Industries, a national HVAC manufacturing company based in the city, with a proclamation citing, among other things:

NC Register: Maine Referendum Will Present Another Challenge to Marriage

However, if the measure does pass, a host of wedding-related businesses — cake makers, photographers, banquet-hall owners — could encounter a stream of same-sex couples. If a business were to refuse to serve such customers, it might be in violation of a 2005 Maine law that added sexual orientation to civil-rights protection. According to Amy Sneirson of the Maine Human Rights Commission, these types of businesses could be considered a service industry in the broader category of public accommodation listed under the law.

One News Now: Kevin Theriot of Alliance Defending Freedom says the government is attempting to avoid Louisiana College’s contention that Christian employers should not be forced to abandon their beliefs. “People of faith shouldn’t be discriminated against when they go into the business world,” he protests. “They certainly shouldn’t be punished for incorporating their religious convictions into their business, and that’s certainly true of a Christian college like Louisiana College.”

The city and county of Denver proposed and drafted a proclamation honoring the 50th anniversary of Hercules Industries, the family business that sued the Obama administration over its abortion pill mandate, but rescinded the honor after the company won a court order in its lawsuit, which attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom are litigating.

LifeNews: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations. That’s why this lawsuit should not be casually dismissed as the Obama administration would like to see happen.” . . . “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. For the time being, Hercules Industries will be able to do just that,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman after the decision. Bowman added, “The cost of freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that will cripple their business if the Obama administration ultimately has its way. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that Washington bureaucrats cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living. Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: Did you know that you as an individual are not protected by the Religious Freedom clause of the First Amendment? Yeah, in other words, your church services on Sunday and all actions taking place there are protected and the government cannot interfere with them. But, your rights stop the moment you leave the church and enter the “secular” world and workplace. Did you know that?

Michael Ramsey at the Originalism Blog: Originalist law professor Mike Paulsen has written a short essay defending Chief Justice Roberts’s decision upholding the Health Care Law as a tax. It might seem like a serious matter that a right wing originalist endorses Roberts’s decision. Perhaps critics of Roberts’s opinion need to rethink their criticisms. But no such rethinking is necessary, because Paulsen’s defense of the opinion is insufficient.

Christian Institute: The Christian owners of a Cornish guesthouse who were sued over their policy of restricting double rooms to married couples have won permission to take their case to the Supreme Court.

DFWCatholic: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations. That’s why this lawsuit should not be casually dismissed as the Obama administration would like to see happen.” “This mandate leaves religious employers with no true choice: either comply and abandon your religious freedom and conscience, or resist and be punished,” said allied attorney and co-counsel Mike Johnson, dean of Louisiana College’s Pressler School of Law. “It is a shame that the Obama administration is opposing religious freedom rather than supporting it.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys file brief opposing President Obama’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit

Catholic Culture: The president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod—the second-largest Lutheran body in the US—has joined with the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference in decrying the HHS mandate.

CNSNews: Thanks to an Obamacare regulation that took effect on Aug. 1, health care plans in Oregon will now be required to provide free sterilizations to 15- year-old girls even if the parents of those girls do not consent to the procedure.

CNA: The Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Ill. on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the HHS mandate, charging that it requires an “intrusive government investigation” to determine whether the diocese is exempt from the controversial federal rule.