Obama had originally promised that there would be a "conscience clause" in ObamaCare where those who object to paying for contraception and abortion services would not be forced to do so. That promise, like so many others Obama made had a big "IF" attached. In order to qualify, organizations like the Little Sisters for the Poor would have to sign "permission" slips for their employees to engage services that the Sisters find morally abhorrent.
The Obama Administration is using the full power of the federal government, including the Department of Justice and an order before the U.S. Supreme Court to force the Little Sisters to comply. Mark Rienzi, Senior Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and Lead Counsel for the Little Sisters issued the following statement:
“Unfortunately, the federal government has started the new year the same way that it ended the old one: trying to bully nuns into violating their religious beliefs.Meet the Little Sisters
“The government demands that the Little Sisters of the Poor sign a permission slip for abortion drugs and contraceptives, or pay of millions in fines. The Sisters believe that doing that violates their faith, and that they shouldn’t be forced to divert funds from the elderly poor they serve to the IRS.
“The government now asks the Supreme Court to believe that the very thing it is forcing the nuns to do—signing the permission slip—is a meaningless act. But why on earth would the government be fighting the Little Sisters all the way to the Supreme Court if it did not think its own form had any effect? The government’s brief offers no explanation for its surprising insistence on making the Little Sisters sign a form the government now says is meaningless.
“And now the government is asking the Supreme Court to look the other way while it coerces the Little Sisters. If the administration believed its contraceptive mandate was valid, it would join the Little Sisters’ request for Supreme Court review because the government has lost almost all of the cases in the lower courts. Instead, its brief today is devoted to trying to keep the Court out of the issue, which would leave hundreds of religious organizations subject to massive fines for following their religion.
“All of this is sad and unnecessary. Our federal government is massive and powerful. It can obviously find ways to distribute contraceptives and abortion pills without forcing nuns to be involved.”
These women devote their entire lives to easing the burden of the elderly and dying poor. Instead of harassing them with the power of the federal government you would think that Obama would embrace their calling and their selfless devotion to serving others. But no. For Obama this is about power and he can't let some nuns escape his edicts or it might encourage others.
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