Standing Together for Religious Freedom An Open Letter to All Americans We write as an informal and diverse group of religious leaders, theologians, lay practitioners and community servants. We believe the doctrines of our respective faiths require something of us beyond the walls of our churches, synagogues, temples, and other places of worship. Those faith …
Frank and Phil Gilardi run their companies pursuant to their faith, which does not permit them to offer contraception in their employee insurance plans. The contraception mandate is a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and a burden on Catholic religious beliefs concerning the use of artificial contraception. Gilardi v. HHS is currently on …
As a for-profit business, Grote Industries does not fit the narrow exemption from the requirements of the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate in the Affordable Care Act that the administration has thus far offered only to churches and religious orders. It also does not qualify for the proposed accommodations that may be provided to …
On Dec. 28, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the HHS mandate to cover contraception is likely to violate this family’s religious liberty as guaranteed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Seventh Circuit has issued an injunction while the appeal in this case, Korte v. Sebelius, is …
“This is bad news for all who love religious freedom,” said Leith Anderson, NAE President. “The Obama administration should have done the right thing and dropped the contraception mandate, or at least should have exempted all religious organizations.” Under the proposed rule, objecting religious organizations are still required to pay for an insurance policy that …
Frank O’Brien’s Catholic faith guides the way he operates O’Brien Industrial Holdings, a Missouri exploration and mining company. As a for-profit business, O’Brien Industrial Holdings is not eligible for either the narrow exemption from the requirements of the HHS mandate offered to certain religious employers, or for the as yet undefined accommodations that have been …
After the Washington State Board of Pharmacy passed a regulation requiring certain pharmacies to stock and dispense Plan B but exempting others, Ralph’s Thriftway, a family-owned pharmacy, and two pharmacists filed suit in Stormans v. Selecky arguing that forcing pharmacists to dispense Plan B violated their religious conscience. In February 2012, a federal district judge …
Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey College do not meet the criteria, and therefore, filed a joint lawsuit challenging the mandate. The suit was dismissed, because the administration has promised to address the religious liberty problem sometime in 2013. Wheaton and Belmont have appealed because there is no guarantee that the schools will be able to …
Dear Secretary Sebelius: As leaders and supporters of faith based service organizations, we write to express our grave concern about the two-class concept of religious organizations that has been created by your department and other federal agencies in connection with contraceptives/abortifacients mandate of the health insurance regulations for preventive services for women. Our organizations, and …
The need for action was great: In 2003, 40 million were living with HIV/AIDS. It was time to move past hang-ups and work together on the pandemic that was destroying a generation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Response to the President’s proposal was mixed. Some critics feared that the messages of abstinence and faithfulness would overshadow the …
