The state of Alabama has joined EWTN’s lawsuit over the HHS contraception/sterilization/abortion mandate. Attorney General Luther Strange explains why on NRO today. He writes, in part:
this debate is not about contraception. The absence of a contraception mandate has not prevented Alabamians from accessing those services; contraception is widely available. It is unclear how the federal government’s mandate benefits society or how anyone would be harmed if organizations such as EWTN could opt out. In other words, there is a particularly large measure of wasted labor here.
This debate is about first freedoms and religious liberty. It is about whether we, as a society, value the right of conscience and support the freedom of individuals to say “no.” If the federal government can mandate what we have to spend our own money on, then the federal government can make us buy something even if we are morally opposed to paying for it. This time it is contraception, but that is not where it will end.
No one outside of the White House has been surprised by the public backlash against the contraception mandate. Governing through federal ultimatum grates against our history, traditions, and, most importantly, our Constitution. But unless the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare in its entirety, I fear that the fight over the contraceptive mandate is just the first skirmish in what will be a long war.
Read the rest here. And consider thanking him for working to defend the religious liberty of all of us.