FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 11, 2016
Contact: Leslie Palma
347-286-7277
NEW YORK — Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, commented today on the opposition brief the Obama administration filed in the Supreme Court case Zubik vs. Burwell, of which Priests for Life vs. HHS is one of the seven consolidated cases.
“This is a clash of worldviews,” Father Pavone said. “The Obama administration and other powerful forces on the other side of this battle see abortion, contraception and sterilization as goods to which all must have access. For them, it is the most natural conclusion in the world that these ‘services’ should be mandated and to accomplish this, they are willing to bulldoze over the religious liberty on which this country was founded.”
Father Pavone continued: “The administration contends that our objection to having to sign what amounts to a permission slip to allow our employees to get their contraceptives and abortifacients covered is a ‘stretch of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.’ That is precisely what the Supreme Court will decide and I remain confident the court will rule on the side of religious liberty.”
Dr. Alveda King, director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and a named plaintiff in the case – along with Father Pavone and Executive Director Janet Morana – commented that the Obama administration’s insistence that these drugs and devices are crucial to women’s health is nothing short of sinister.
“A disproportionate number of women suffer serious medical side effects from abortions and use of artificial contraceptives,” she said. “I am one of those women, and I oppose this mandate on behalf of all women.”
The seven consolidated cases at the Supreme Court are as follows:
14-1418 ZUBIK, DAVID A. ET AL. V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL.
14-1453 PRIESTS FOR LIFE, ET AL. V. DEPT. OF H&HS, ET AL.
14-1505 ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL.
15-35 E. TX BAPTIST UNIV., ET AL. V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS
15-105 LITTLE SISTERS, ET AL. V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL.
15-119 SOUTHERN NAZARENE UNIV., ET AL. V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL.
15-191 GENEVA COLLEGE V. BURWELL, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL.
For information on the Priests for Life and other cases, go to www.IStandWithPFL.com.
To participate in the prayer campaign for victory in these cases, see www.SupremeCourtVictory.com
Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.