Today, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York a motion and supporting legal memoranda, requesting the court to immediately halt the enforcement of the Obama administration’s unconstitutional “contraception” mandate.  The mandate, which was spearheaded by Kathleen Sebelius, the Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and championed by President Obama, forces religious-based employers to provide insurance plans that include coverage for contraception, sterilization, abortifacients, and related education and counseling.  The Obama administration refused to provide a broad religious exemption that would protect the rights of people of faith who oppose such practices on religious grounds.

AFLC’s motion is part of its federal lawsuit filed jointly with California civil rights attorney Charles S. LiMandri on behalf of Priests for Life, a national, Catholic, pro-life organization based in New York. 

Robert Muise, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, commented: “This mandate directly conflicts with the deeply-held religious beliefs of Priests for Life, which upholds and actively professes traditional Christian teaching on the nature and purpose of human sexuality.  President Obama’s ‘contraception’ mandate is a direct attack on religious freedom, which is enshrined in our Constitution.”

AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi echoed Muise’s concerns: “This unconstitutional mandate is the centerpiece of the Obama’s administration’s war on religious freedom.  One thing is certain, AFLC is firmly committed to stopping Obama’s attack on our fundamental constitutional rights.  First among those rights is the right to the free exercise of religion.”