Tag Archives: religious exemptions

Fighting For Your Religious Freedom

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For whatever reason, liberal politicians seem to be intent on going after the Little Sisters of the Poor. In Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court in 2020 upheld a federal rule protecting the Little Sisters and other religious groups from the federal government’s contraceptive mandate. But Pennsylvania and New Jersey continued to fight in court to strip the Little Sisters of that protection. Now the Little Sisters of the Poor and another group of Catholic nuns and healthcare providers are being sued by New York State over New York’s assisted suicide law.

On Sunday, Townhall reported:

Back on July 20, Townhall reported that a group of Catholic nuns and healthcare providers in New York had filed suit against the state over its assisted suicide law, one that would force those religious groups to inform patients of “end-of-life options,” including assisted suicide.

The group included the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Catholic Health, a network of Long Island hospitals. Now a court has granted them relief from the state’s assisted suicide law, at least temporarily.

The ruling prohibits the state from forcing these Catholics from participating in the assisted suicide law until their lawsuit is heard in court.

The article concludes:

Remember, these nuns take care of the sick and dying without compensation. It is part of their calling and their faith, and the state of New York wants to stop them from doing this—punishing sick and dying people in the process.

We’ll see what happens when the lawsuit has its day in court. It’s possible the courts side with the state, setting up another Supreme Court battle.

The attacks on our freedom of religion should not be taken lightly. These nuns are standing up for all Americans in the effort to preserve what our Founding Fathers created and Americans in multiple generations have died for.

Using Healthcare To Infringe Upon The First Amendment

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On Monday, Just the News reported that a judge, who was formerly a CNN reporter, is attempting to end the Little Sisters of the Poor’s religious exemption to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.

The article reports:

Religious liberty law firm Becket filed its opening brief on behalf of Little Sisters of the Poor with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the summer ruling by U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, nominated by Obamacare’s namesake. 

Paul Clement, who has argued 100-plus cases before SCOTUS, is the star lawyer on the brief.

“The fourteen-year legal crusade” against the order, with Pennsylvania and New Jersey taking the baton from the Obama administration after its successor finalized a religious exemption, “has been needless, grotesque, and un-American,” said Becket President Mark Rienzi. Mother Loraine Marie Maguire prays that the states “end this needless harassment.”

The article concludes:

Congress never imposed a mandate by statute, the original regulatory mandate has four explicit exemptions for both religious and secular activity, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey’s own actions belie their arguments, the brief says: The Keystone State still lacks a comparable state mandate and the Garden State’s religious exemption is even broader. 

“Indeed, the States’ entire case is premised on the availability of a range of state programs that do provide contraceptives,” which contradicts any argument that forcing nuns to do it is the least restrictive means, the nuns told the appeals court. 

People and organizations should be able to decide for themselves what their health insurance will cover and what it will not cover. There should be a variety of plans available with different coverage. The demand being made of the nuns makes as much sense as forcing retired people to pay for juvenile dental care. A policy providing that coverage should be available, but not required.

Good News For All Americans

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On Saturday, Red State reported that NorthShore University Health System medical employees have won a lawsuit in which they sued the company because they were denied medical exemptions from the company’s vaccine mandate.

The article reports:

Now, in a big victory for freedom, NorthShore has agreed to settle with the employees. They agreed to pay more than 500 current and former employees $10,337,500. NorthShore is also been required to change its policy to allow religious exemptions and rehire anyone who was fired or forced to resign for not getting the vaccine. The Court still has to approve the settlement. Once the Court approves it, the employees can apply to get their jobs back at the same seniority level.

The Liberty Counsel which represented the employees cheered the victory.

This is the “first-of-its-kind class action settlement against a private employer who unlawfully denied hundreds of religious exemption requests to COVID-19 shots,” Liberty Counsel said. Its founder and chairman, Mat Staver, said it “should be a wake-up call to every employer that did not accommodate or exempt employees who opposed the COVID shots for religious reasons. Let this case be a warning to employers that violated Title VII.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

In many cases, the religious exemption claimed is due to the fact that scientists used fetal stem cells in the development and production of the Covid vaccines. Because many religions oppose abortion, the use of fetal stem cells from aborted babies is in conflict with those religions. The fact that the stem cells are from an older strain of cells does not matter.

The article notes that the decision on religious exemptions from vaccine mandates followed a similar decision in California:

This followed a decision, earlier in July from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, which struck down a Los Angeles County Unified School District (LAUSD) COVID vaccine requirement for students, finding the district exceeded its authority and that the resolution approving the mandate clashes with state law by not allowing exemptions for personal beliefs.

This should serve as a big warning sign to companies who have done this or who would think about doing this to their employees ever again in the future.

Hopefully these lawsuits will pave the way for the end of the government insisting that Americans put chemicals in their bodies that they are not comfortable with. Our freedom is fragile, we need to continue to work to protect it.

Why Does The Government Need To Track This?

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On Saturday, WND reported the following:

The federal entity that helps officers in the District of Columbia courts in formulating release recommendations and providing supervision and services to defendants awaiting trial, the column said, has developed “a new records system that will store the names and ‘personal religious information’ of all employees who make ‘religious accommodation requests for religious exception from the federally mandated vaccination requirement.'”

The bureaucracy revealed, according to the column, that such a list will “assist the Agency in the collecting, storing, dissemination, and disposal of employee religious exemption request information collected and maintained by the Agency.”

The article also notes:

The Federalist explained the system claims “that the database will legally allow for the ‘collection, storing, dissemination, and disposal of employee religious exemption request information’ for an indefinite period of time.”

The less data collected on American citizens by the government, the happier Americans will be. This is definitely an example of government overreach.

The article concludes:

Those concerned are allowed only a few weeks to submit their concerns.

I suggest we all get concerned.

When The Courts Defend Religious Rights

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Yesterday The Post Millennial posted an article about the Covid vaccine mandates in New York State.

The article reports:

A federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday says employers in New York’s healthcare sector must allow religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Presiding Judge Hurd said the state government of New York doesn’t have the authority to ban religious exemptions.

He issued an injunction that bars the Department of Health from reprimanding employers for granting religious exemptions to staff.

In addition: “The Department of Health is barred from taking any action, disciplinary or otherwise, against the licensure, certification, residency, admitting privileges or other professional status or qualification of any of the plaintiffs on account of their seeking or having obtained a religious exemption from mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.”

The New York Times describes a contrast between former Governor Andrew Cuomo and the current governor; Cuomo allowed religious exemptions but Kathy Hochul took them away, which in itself triggered the lawsuit.

In light of today’s decision, Hochul said the state would be appealing the ruling:

“My responsibility as governor is to protect the people of this state, and requiring health care workers to get vaccinated accomplishes that. I stand behind this mandate, and I will fight this decision in court to keep New Yorkers safe.”

For whatever reason we seem to have a lot of elected leaders who have forgotten the God-given rights the U.S. Constitution was written to protect. There is evidence that some of the Covid vaccines or the research to develop the vaccines involved embryonic stem cells. For some religious people, that is a problem. The Constitution protects the rights of those people. The Governor of New York needs to respect religious freedom. It will be a sad day for Americans if the State of New York wins this case.

Actions Have Consequences

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I am not a doctor, and I raised children before the controversy over vaccines began. I had my children vaccinated because it was what their pediatrician recommended. At the time that was pretty standard. Times have changed, and I am not sure what the right answer is, but at some point it seems that common sense should play a role.

The Hill is reporting today that state lawmakers are considering eliminating the vaccine  exemptions that have been granted to parents. The reason is the recent outbreaks of measles.

The article reports:

But the most recent measles outbreaks, which have infected 159 mostly unvaccinated people in 10 states, is leading some states to reconsider.

“That goes beyond religious freedom,” said Burke.

Every state requires that students be vaccinated to enroll in school, and all states allow exemptions for children who are too sick to receive vaccines or who have a weakened immune system.

Most states also allow exemptions for religious reasons, and 17 states, including Washington and Texas, allow exemptions for both religious and personal or philosophical beliefs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Both Washington and Texas have seen measles outbreaks this year.

Lawmakers in Iowa, New Jersey and Vermont, which already ban personal or philosophical exemptions, are now debating proposals to eliminate religious exemptions.

I am concerned that if these exemptions are eliminated, exemptions for more controversial vaccines will also be eliminated. I am also concerned that smallpox vaccines are no longer given to American children because the disease is said to have been eradicated in America. Unfortunately, a person recently stopped while attempting to enter America illegally was diagnosed with smallpox. I would like to think that he was the only person with the disease attempting to enter America, but I am not sure that is realistic.

The article concludes:

Outbreaks can occur in communities where there is not a high enough percentage of people who are vaccinated.

Described as “herd immunity” by public health experts, at least 94 percent of a community must be vaccinated against measles to prevent the disease from spreading.

Herd immunity protects those with weakened immune systems, babies who can’t be vaccinated or those who are too sick to receive vaccinations.

But as more and more parents claim vaccine exemptions, experts say, the disease is more likely to spread.

And federal officials have indicated the government might step in if state legislatures don’t.

“Some states are engaging in such wide exemptions that they’re creating the opportunity for outbreaks on a scale that is going to have national implications,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNN last week.

If “certain states continue down the path that they’re on, I think they’re going to force the hand of the federal health agencies.”

Health committees in the House and Senate are set to hold hearings on the measles outbreaks this month.

It will be interesting to watch the hearings. Good arguments can be made on both sides of this issue.

Should Religion Influence Our Society ?

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CNS News is reporting today on former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s recent comments about CatholicBishops:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) on Thursday described America’s Roman Catholic bishops as “lobbyists in Washington, D.C.” in their efforts to persuade the Department of Health and Human Service to rescind a proposed regulation under the new health-care law that would require all health care plans to cover sterilizations and all-FDA approved contraceptives, including abortifacients.

This statement shows a total lack of understanding of the role the clergy has played in American history and the role of the church as a positive influence on the culture and on the government. The American church was a major force in the ending of slavery. The church in America has a history of voicing its opinion on social and more issues.

The article reports that Obamacare would not continue the current religious exemption granted to Catholic hospitals and Catholic charities regarding birth control and abortion–the hospitals and charities would have to provide both. That means that these organizations would have to either drop health insurance for their workers or provide services that are against their faith.

The article reports:

At an Oct. 4 fundraiser in St. Louis, Obama bragged about the new regulation that will require all health plans to cover contraceptives without any co-pay.

“No longer can insurance companies discriminate against women just because you guys are the ones who have to give birth,” Obama said.

An audience member than called out: “Darn right!”

Obama answered in turn: “Darin tooting,” he said.  “They have to cover things like mammograms and contraception as preventive care, no more out-of-pocket costs.”

Unless the administration rescinds the proposed regulation, it will go into affect on Aug. 1, 2012.

Catholic Bishops are not lobbyists–they are religious leaders concerned about the moral condition of the culture. They need to be respected and listened to when they speak about laws that go against their religious beliefs.

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