Posted on 02/09/2012 12:17:58 PM PST by mware
EWTN Sues U.S. Government To Stop Contraception Mandate Network Asks Court to Stop Order to Pay for Immoral Services
Irondale, AL (EWTN) EWTN Global Catholic Network filed a lawsuit February 9 in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama against the Department of Health & Human Services, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other government agencies seeking to stop the imposition of the contraception mandate as well as asking the court for a declaratory judgment that the mandate is unconstitutional. EWTN is the first Catholic organization to file suit since the final HHS rules were published by the Obama administration on January 20, 2012.
"We had no other option but to take this to the courts," says EWTN President and CEO Michael P. Warsaw. "Under the HHS mandate, EWTN is being forced by the government to make a choice: either we provide employees coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and violate our conscience or offer our employees and their families no health insurance coverage at all. Neither of those choices is acceptable."
The lawsuit was filed on EWTN's behalf by Mark Rienzi, Kyle Duncan, and Erik Kniffin from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
"We are taking this action to defend not only ourselves but also to protect other institutions Catholic and non-Catholic, religious and secular from having this mandate imposed upon them," Warsaw continued. "The government is forcing EWTN, first, to inform its employees about how to get contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs, a concept known as forced speech. To make the matter worse, the government then will force EWTN to use its donors' funds to pay for these same morally objectionable procedures or to pay for the huge fines it will levy against us if we fail to provide health care insurance. There is no question that this mandate violates our First Amendment rights. This is a moment when EWTN, as a Catholic organization, has to step up and say that enough is enough. Our hope is that our lawsuit does just that."
Can Zero really be this stupid? Personally, I think this is all calculated to see just how far they can go.
But why in an election year....??
They created a firestorm, by attempting to renege on the conscience clause of this bill.
All the same to me, SCOTUS ought to dump the entire law just on this issue.
Catholic Spring?
They got Mother Angelica mad at them.
She is in good with God.
I sure hope it is a Catholic Spring come November.
Ping
Done. I hope everyone signs.
Good — I hope many other suits are in the works!
I think Obama bit off more than he could chew.
What arrogance, to think he could undo 2000 years of faith with some man made law.
I wonder if the Knight of Columbus have something in the works.
Why in election year you ask ??
Some of us expect a war in the middle east to unfold before November and liberties to be further restricted here if only to stop elections.
Win/win for obama.
I've wonder for years why the MA dioceses didn't file against the state on religious liberty grounds . . .
OH OH Obama got MOther Anglica be tick off with him ROFL
OH OH Obama got MOther Anglica be tick off with him ROFL
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Thank you AliVeritas,
I just signed.
HEY NYER I ready sign it already
Yeah leave it to Obama tick off sweet Mother Anglica
Someone said they’re doing this to get the focus off of the economy. Talking about the economy is a losing issue for Obama with everybody. At least this issue shores up Obama’s leftist base and could increase campaign donations.
Thanks!
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