Priests for Life Wins Emergency Relief From the Unjust HHS mandate

Father  Pavone said that what the Obama administration has tried to do through the HHS mandate - which he called a "blatant act of tyranny" - is to give the federal government the power to determine what is and what isn't important in an individual's religion; that is not the government's role. Father Pavone concluded, "There have already been significant victories in the courts against the HHS mandate, and we have no doubt that Priests for Life ultimately will prevail in this historic fight."

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Priests for Life) - An emergency injunction granted Tuesday night in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit means that Priests for Life will not have to obey the contraception mandate contained in the Affordable Care Act as its appeal is being heard. It also meant that Priests for Life did not have to cancel health insurance for its employees on Jan. 1.

Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, said he is grateful  his organization is free, temporarily at least, from having to comply with the unjust mandate.

"We would not have complied with this mandate in any case, as it promotes the very culture of death that Priests for Life works to combat," Father Pavone said. "We are grateful for this temporary relief and look forward to a permanent injunction once the appeal is fully heard."

"Our lawsuit was among the very first ones in the country and the necessity to launch it shows that religious freedom in America is in grave danger.  We have to take action."

On Dec. 19, Priests for Life learned that the judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had ruled in favor of the government. Within an hour Priests for Life filed for the emergency injunction that was granted today.

Father  Pavone said that what the Obama administration has tried to do through the HHS mandate - which he called a "blatant act of tyranny" - is to give the federal government the power to determine what is and what isn't important in an individual's religion; that is not the government's role.

Father Pavone concluded, "There have already been significant victories in the courts against the HHS mandate, and we have no doubt that Priests for Life ultimately will prevail in this historic fight."

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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.