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"The Second Vatican Council committed the
Catholic Church to the promotion of religious
freedom. The Declaration Dignitatis Humanae
explains in its subtitle that it intends to
proclaim “the right of the person and of
communities to social and civil freedom in
religious matters”. In order that this freedom,
willed by God and inscribed in human nature, may
be exercised, no obstacle should be placed in
its way, since “the truth cannot be imposed
except by virtue of its own truth”. The dignity
of the person and the very nature of the quest
for God require that all men and women should be
free from every constraint in the area of
religion. Society and the State must not force a
person to act against his conscience or prevent
him from acting in conformity with it."
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
no. 421.
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Defending Religious
Freedom -- Background on the HHS Mandates
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The Health Care
Reform Law
The health care reform law (the
"Affordable Care Act" or "ACA") was passed
in 2010, and is a comprehensive regulation
that impacts everyone in the United States.
That law imposes three levels of mandates:
(1) all individuals will be required to have
a health insurance policy, or pay a fine to
the government; (2) all employers (with a
few exceptions for small businesses) will
have to provide their employees with an
insurance plan or pay a fine to the
government; and (3) all insurance companies
will have to cover a variety of things,
including “preventive services”.
For more background information about the
health care reform law, and what it will
do about abortion, see
here.
- The HHS
Contraception/Abortion Mandates
In August 2011, the Department of Health and
Human Services ("HHS"), acting under the
authority given to them by the ACA,
announced regulations to define what had to
be covered by health insurance policies
under the term “preventive services”. These
regulations required all employers and
health insurance policies to cover
contraceptives (including drugs that cause
early abortions) and sterilizations. There
was an extremely narrow exemption for
religious employers, but no exemption for
religious individuals or insurance companies
with objections.
There was considerable opposition, and
thousands of people — including the U.S.
Bishops and many other religious groups —
filed comments with HHS, asking for the
rejection of the regulation or the granting
of a broader religious exemption.
Nevertheless, on January 20, 2012, HHS
announced that they were going to implement
those regulations without any modification
whatsoever.
In response to the renewed public
objections, the President announced on
February 10 that there would be a
“compromise” to address the religious
liberty objections of churches and other
faith-based institutions. But no details
about this “compromise” have been finalized
and the original regulations have become
law. Employers will have to start complying
with the mandate, or applying for
exemptions, on August 1.
On March 12, HHS issued another final rule
under ACA that will coerce many Americans to
pay for elective abortions, in two ways: (1)
Through their tax dollars all taxpayers will
be forced to subsidize health plans that
cover elective abortions and (2) Many
Americans will also be forced to make a
monthly payment that will be directly used
to pay for elective abortions. There are no
exemptions for those who object to abortion
based on their conscience.
For more information about these
mandates, see
below.
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The Church's
Challenge to the HHS Mandates
On May 21, lawsuits were filed across the
nation by Catholic dioceses and
institutions, challenging the contraception
and abortion mandates.
The Archdiocese of New York (and our health
care agency, ArchCare) was among the
dioceses to file suit.
The grounds for these lawsuits include the
Free Exercise, Establishment and Free Speech
clauses of the First Amendment, and the
federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The essential arguments are that the HHS
mandate intrudes upon our religious freedom
by forcing our institutions to cooperate
with moral evil and by intruding upon the
Church's freedom to govern Herself, without
interference from the state.
A press release about the Archdiocese
lawsuit can be found
here. A press release from Cardinal
Dolan on behalf of the USCCB can be read
here.
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Resources for Education and Action on the HHS
Mandates
There are many resources that can be used to
educate people about the threat to religious
liberty posed by the HHS Mandates:
People can also contact their representatives
in Congress to urge them to overturn the HHS
Mandates and protect the right to conscience:
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Action alert from the National Committee
for a Human Life Amendment.
We also urge people to participate in public
prayer and witness to defend religious freedom,
particularly against the HHS Mandates.
- The United States Bishops are asking
people to join in a special Fortnight for
Freedom prayer campaign from June 21
through July 4. For more information
and resources, check
here.
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Resources for
Education About Religious Liberty
There are a number of significant documents
that should be consulted, to learn about the
Church's teaching on religious liberty:
There are also many excellent resources
available regarding religious liberty at the
website of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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Edward T. Mechmann, Esq.
Public Policy Coordinator
 edward.mechmann@archny.org
646.794.2807 |
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