U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Healthcare Law Again, Considering Violations of First Amendment Conscience Rights

"Punishing Americans for their moral objection to life-ending drugs and devices is abhorrently un-American," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The U.S. Supreme Court again has the chance to defend the constitutional rights of all Americans, in considering the punishing mandates in a landmark, anti-life law," commented Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest, on hearing news that the court decided to review two cases challenging Obamacare's HHS Mandate, Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius and Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores. "Punishing Americans for their moral objection to life-ending drugs and devices is abhorrently un-American."

Americans United for Life has already filed 18 amicus curiae briefs in challenges to Obamacare, defending the constitutional rights of all Americans when it comes to healthcare purchases. In the Conestoga Woods case, AUL filed a brief in the 3^rd Circuit and in the Supreme Court in support of the cert petition. AUL also filed a brief in the 10^th Circuit in the Hobby Lobby case.

Conestoga Wood Specialties is owned by Christians and operated according to the owners' Mennonite Christian beliefs.  Hobby Lobby is an Oklahoma-based national arts and crafts retailer founded and run by David Green and his family. The Greens attribute God's grace for Hobby Lobby's success and over the course of four decades of expansion the Green family's Christian faith has remained an integral part of the business.  Both Conestoga Woods and Hobby Lobby do not oppose all contraception, but those drugs and devices that have been labeled as "contraception" by the FDA although they are known to have life-ending effects.

In our briefs, AUL demonstrates that the life of a new human being begins at fertilization (conception), that so-called "emergency contraception" has a post-fertilization effect that can prevent a new human being from implanting in the uterus, and that forcing employers to provide coverage for such drugs violates their constitutionally protected freedom of conscience.

The briefs were filed on behalf of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, National Catholic Bioethics Center, Physicians for Life, and National Association of Pro Life Nurses.

"Real healthcare respects life," noted Dr. Yoest. "Whether the issue is punishing Americans for their beliefs, pushing life-ending drugs that have been deceptively labeled as contraception, or creating new income streams for the abortion industry, the anti-life implications of Obamacare are far-reaching."

Abortion is woven into the healthcare law at multiple levels, making repeal of the law a pro-life necessity, including:

• Failing to prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortion, abortion coverage, and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.
• Pretending that the Hyde Amendment protections were enough to prohibit direct payment for abortions.
• Permitting federally subsidized Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) to provide abortion coverage through the state insurance exchanges required in all 50 states.
• Failing to prohibit all multi-state qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortion.
• Including a "preventive care" mandate that is being used to force coverage of drugs and devices known to end life.
• Failing to provide comprehensive First Amendment conscience protections for individuals, employers, and insurance companies that have religious or moral objections to abortion.

To learn more about life-affirming healthcare, click here.

For interviews, e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Americans United for Life