After the Supreme Court dealt a devastating blow to the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate, the administration promised a “fix” to make it all legal. True to their promise a new HHS mandate “fix” was released last week. Unfortunately, the new “fix” does nothing to protect the religious conscience and convictions of business owners and religious organizations.

The following articles provide a detailed analysis of the new “fix” and why it’s really nothing new and doesn’t really fix anything. Stay informed about this very critical issue. At stake is the ability for business owners to live and do business according to their religious convictions without fear of government reprisal. This is important because religious freedom is a cornerstone of our country. If the government can force a business owner to violate his/her religious convictions it won’t be long before every person can and will be made to do the same.

ADF COMMENT ON HHS MANDATE ‘ACCOMMODATION’

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor regarding the Obama administration’s announcement Friday regarding the Department of Health and Human Services’ abortion-pill mandate. The administration issued a new rule that alters the way faith-based non-profits can invoke a so-called “accommodation,” under which the beneficiaries of their insurance plans can access religiously objectionable drugs, devices, and counseling. The government also proposed a rule designed to provide a way for closely-held businesses to comply with the mandate through the same “accommodation.”

“The government should not force religious organizations, family businesses, or individuals to be complicit in providing abortion pills to their employees or students. We will consult with our clients to determine how the government’s actions affect their sincere objections to the mandate. Notably, the administration has failed to extend its existing religious exemption to the religious owners of family businesses and to religious non-profits other than churches. That would have been the best way of respecting freedom for everyone.”

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About the New HHS Regulations

The following can be attributed to Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty:

“Under pressure from hundreds of lawsuits, the government continues to retreat.  After three losses in the Supreme Court and dozens of losses in courts below, the government continues to confuse the issues. The government issued over 70 pages of regulations, when all it needed to do was read the First Amendment.  We’ll be reviewing this latest attempt with each of our clients.”

Here are the 5 Things You Need to Know:

1. This is the 8th retreat the administration has made from their original stance that only “house[s] of                              worship” receive religious liberty protection.

2.  There are a lot of lawsuits against the administration: 102 cases filed including:

3. The administration has lost 90% of their cases on this issue – including a decision and two orders from               the Supreme Court in Hobby Lobby, Little Sisters, and Wheaton.

4.  The religious charities in these cases serve tens of thousands of people, helping the poor and healing the sick. The Little Sisters of the Poor alone serve more than ten thousand people.
5.  This is the first time the administration has acknowledged that families do not lose their religious freedom when they open a family business.  None of the previous seven revisions reached family-owned businesses.

After Losing to Hobby Lobby, Obama Admin Pushes Crippling Fines for HHS Mandate Violators

After losing to Hobby Lobby at the Supreme Court in a case about whether certain businesses who object to paying for abortion-causing drugs for their employees must follow the HHS mandate, the Obama administration has revised the HHS mandate rules.

The revisions target religious nonprofits and those pro-life companies like Hobby Lobby.

The Obama administration released a fact sheet on the newly-proposed HHS mandate rule pertaining to non-profit organizations and closely held for-profit entities, like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties. The factsheet on the new rules makes it clear that the HHS mandate violates the conscience rights of non-profit organizations and family businesses across the country.