FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2016
Contact: Mallory Quigley, [email protected], 703-380-6674
Abortion-Inducing Drugs Mandate Violates Religious Freedom and will NOT Reduce Rates of Unintended Pregnancy or Abortion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell, to examine the challenge raised against the Obamacare contraception/abortion-inducing drugs mandate and its impact on religious freedom.
The Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious nonprofits argue that the so-called “accommodation” devised by the Obama Administration violates religious freedom protections secured by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
“Religious liberty and rights of conscience have been threatened like never before under President Obama,” said Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “We stand with the religious nonprofits like the Little Sisters of the Poor, who are being forced to cover abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans, despite their religious objections – or else face crippling fines that would destroy their work to support the elderly poor. We urge the court to protect religious liberty – our First Freedom – and strike down this mandate.”
An amicus curiae brief submitted in the case by Michael New, Ph.D., an Associate Scholar with the SBA List’s education arm, the Charlotte Lozier Institute, argues that there is no “compelling state interest” for the government to mandate that the Little Sisters and others provide these services via their health care plans.
Addressing a key component of analysis for RFRA purposes, Dr. New analyzed a variety of similar mandates imposed by more than two dozen states and compared public health data before and after the mandates took effect. Dr. New found that:
“At the state-level, contraceptive mandates have produced no discernible reduction in rates of unintended pregnancy or abortion,” said Dr. Michael New. “A federal mandate will be no more effective than state mandates have been in reducing rates of unintended pregnancy or abortion.”
The Susan B. Anthony List and its Political Action Committees, the SBA List Candidate Fund and Women Speak Out PAC, are dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. The SBA List is a network of more than 465,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world.
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