Religious Freedom Is a Civil and Human Right

By Alveda King, Special to CP Wednesday, March 26, 2014

"There is a difference between killing the poor and serving the poor." Father Frank Pavone, Priests for Life  

Monday I did an interview on Airing the Addisons with Wil and Meeke discussing the HHS Mandate and Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods. This week at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) involves the lives of every American: yet many are unaware.   

Earlier this week the SCOTUS heard arguments on two cases, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods, regarding their lawsuits against the HHS Mandate. Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, led prayers with other pro-life leaders and religious freedom advocates at a rally in front of the Supreme Court Building in support of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods. Planned Parenthood and others they will be bussing in to rally in favor of the HHS Mandate.

The irony now is that during the oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday on whether the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act violates the free exercise of religion, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan suggested that employers who have moral objections to birth control should not provide health care coverage for their employees. They even recommended that employers opt to pay taxes to avoid the mandate and even give employees a $2K raise to buy their own insurance. Does this sound like a socialist agenda?

This is an important question for human and civil rights advocates because much is at stake regarding the Constitutional rights of religious freedom for every American.

Yet another case deals with infringement against religious freedom of non-profit companies. In our Priests for Life case, I join Fr. Frank Pavone, and Janet Morana as parties to our HHS lawsuit; actually the third in a series filed against the HHS Mandate. The irony is the HHS Mandate seeks to force Priests for Life, an organization that teaches that contraception and abortions are dangerous, life threatening and immoral, to pay for, directly or indirectly, the very injustice that we are fighting against.

Our case is in the appeals process in the DC Circuit court. While the appeal works its way through the appeals process, which can be a lengthy undertaking, we have petitioned the SCOTUS to take up the case because of its "imperative public importance." That petition will be heard later this week, on Friday, March 28.

Please pray that the SCOTUS will make the right decisions and rule in favor of the Hobby Lobby/Conestga Woods case; that the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and pray that the SCOTUS agrees that our PFL case is of such "imperative public importance" that it decides to take up the case and give a favorable ruling.

These legal matters raise civil and human rights issue. It is an injustice to rule on the side of death dealing agents such as carcinogenic fertility blockers. My Uncle M.L. fought for civil rights over 50 years ago and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act is coming up later this year. Yet, in 2014 our government is working against our liberties.

May God have mercy and help us, because: CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, LIKE CIVIL RIGHTS, ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

Dr. Alveda King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She is the founder of King for America, Inc. and the mother of six and a doting grandmother. She is a voice for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, speaking about her regret for her abortion.Dr. KIng is a consultant to the Africa Humanitarian Christian Fellowship, a former college professor and a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives.