This week, as we prepare
to celebrate Independence Day, the American people received a favorable
ruling from the Supreme Court in defense of religious freedom against
the Obama administration's Health and Human Services
contraception/sterilization/
As Human Life International said in our statement on the decision,
what was deeply disturbing about this case was the manipulation of
scientific facts about when human life begins in order to support a
radical political agenda promoting abortion. HLI Fellow Dr. Denise
Hunnell goes into more detail about this and other factors to consider concerning the Hobby Lobby decision in her article this week on HLI's Truth and Charity Forum.
Please continue to pray for the conversion of hearts and minds as we work to build a Culture of Life. May God bless you!
Sincerely yours in Christ, 
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
One Victory, but Many Battles Remain
by Denise Hunnell, M.D.
Since
2011, I have been continuously writing and speaking about the affront
to religious liberty caused by the Affordable Care Act's mandated
coverage of contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilization. Therefore,
it is with both satisfaction and relief that I read the Supreme Court
decision declaring the imposition of the HHS Mandate on closely-held
corporations such as Hobby Lobby is a violation of the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA). However, while we rejoice in this victory, it
is important to look at the tactics used by those who support the HHS
mandate, because we will see them again and again in the ongoing fight
to defend the sanctity of human life and defend our right to live by our
Catholic morals.
The
HHS mandate was originally made possible because a biased panel put
together by the Institute of Medicine declared that contraception, abortifacients,
and sterilization met the criteria for essential preventive medical
services. This was ludicrous from the start. Preventive medicine
maintains the physiological functioning of biological systems and
prevents disease. Pregnancy is not a disease and fertility is not a
disorder. Hormonal contraceptives, abortifacients like Plan B and Ella,
and surgical sterilization are purely elective medical interventions.
They take healthy reproductive systems and make them non-functional.
Abortion
advocates tried to argue that life begins at implantation instead of at
conception, so drugs that disrupt pregnancy before implantation should
cause no moral dilemma. The American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology (ACOG), a stalwart supporter of abortion on demand at any
time for any reason, tried to bolster this position by defining
pregnancy as beginning at implantation. However, science has clearly
established that life begins at conception. Once fertilization occurs,
the sperm and the ova cease to exist. They merge to form a completely
new entity, the zygote. The zygote meets all scientific criteria for
life and has the complete DNA of a new, unique human person at the
earliest stage of development. Whether or not ACOG includes the first
week of life occurring prior to implantation as part of the clinical
definition of pregnancy cannot change the fact that human life exists
during this week.
As
the arguments against the HHS mandate focused more on religious
liberty, the Obama administration made a conscious effort to avoid
speaking of freedom of religion and instead used the term "freedom of
worship." The First Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that
the government cannot infringe upon the free exercise of religion, but
through semantic manipulations the Administration tried to narrowly
define this freedom as only applying to private liturgical and prayer
practices and not to living one's faith in every aspect of life.
Finally,
the supporters of the HHS mandate tried to paint those who opposed the
legislation as waging a "war on women." The truth is, hormonal
contraceptives cause a dramatic increase in the most aggressive forms of
breast cancer in young women, double the transmission rates of HIV, as
well as increase the risk of potentially fatal blood clots and strokes
in young women. There is also clear evidence that abortion markedly
increases the risk of breast cancer. Failure to speak plainly of these
risks and depicting hormonal contraception and abortion as good for
women constitutes the real war on women.
At
every turn, the Obama administration and its allies tried to use the
HHS mandate to support their radical anti-life agenda. Their tactics did
not involve reasoned arguments, because there really is no logical
defense for promoting contraception and abortion as an essential benefit
for women. Instead, they tried to redefine terms like "preventive
medicine," "pregnancy," and even "human life" to distort the truth and
justify their position.
We
already see similar Orwellian word games with the redefinition of
marriage to include same-sex couples or The State Department declaring
gender a matter of self-determination, thus allowing passports to be
marked "female" for individuals who are anatomically male but think of
themselves as female. President Obama has promised to sign an executive
order that would bar federal grants to or contracts to those who
discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. There has
been no assurance of a religious exemption, so Catholic institutions
that are faithful to the Catholic teachings on homosexuality could be
considered discriminatory and thus ineligible for federal money. To our
cultural adversaries, language is fungible and there is no objective
reality.
So,
yes, we can celebrate the Supreme Court decision and take comfort that
in this case justice prevailed. However, we must not be complacent. Pope
Francis, building on the words of Pope Benedict XVI, denounced the
tyranny of relativism. In his first papal address to Vatican diplomats,
he said:
But there is no true peace without truth! There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth.
Therefore,
we must continue to shine a bright light on the distortions and
outright lies of those who seek to marginalize people of faith and
ignore traditional religious principles. On issues of the sanctity of
life, the defense of marriage and the family, and religious liberty we
must always speak the truth boldly, in charity, but without compromise.
Our goal cannot be mere political victories but instead must be the protection of all human life and ultimately the salvation of souls.
From Ocean to Ocean
|
On Friday July 4, the historic pro-life pilgrimage with the Black Madonna will reach the Pacific Ocean, traveling "from ocean to ocean" across the US. Read More... by Father Peter West and Chris Morales
Our Lady's visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse anticipates her future visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Read More...
