Senator Marco Rubio has introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 that is aimed at repealing the Obama administration’s mandate forcing faith-based employers to offer insurance coverage that provides contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilizations free-of-charge.

“The Obama Administration’s obsession with forcing mandates on the American people has now reached a new low by violating the conscience rights and religious liberties of our people,” Senator  Rubio said in a released statement. 

“Under this President, we have a government that has grown too big, too costly and now even more overbearing by forcing religious entities to abandon their beliefs.  This is a common sense bill that simply says the government can’t force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so.”

At issue is the The Department of Health and Human Services announcement last month that the mandate would require most church-affiliated organizations to offer private insurance coverage without out-of-pocket charges for birth control. 

Rubio’s bill does not address other problematic mandates issued under ObamaCare, but these are covered under the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) which has 135 co-sponsors, including Rubio, and is currently pending in Congress.

Support for Rubio’s bill is growing quickly. Thomas Farr, the director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, urged Catholics to  get behind the bill and not simply hope that the courts decide this issue in our favor.

“It is the fickleness of the courts, as well as the anti-Catholic hostility of the Obama administration, that makes Senator Rubio’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 so important,” Farr said. “It deserves the support of Catholics and other religious groups who share their concerns.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue also praised the initiative.

“The Catholic community will be delighted to learn of the courage shown by Sen. Marco Rubio in seeking to combat the Obama administration’s unprecedented assault on religious liberty. If the administration were to get its way, Catholic non-profit institutions would be forced to carry healthcare services that the Church deems immoral. What’s at stake is the First Amendment right to religious liberty, and nothing goes to the heart of this civil liberty more than conscience rights.”

Donohue said his organization is receiving incredible support for overturning the unjust mandate from people of all faiths, as well as from atheists and agnostics.

He vowed to “support our bishops in pursuing every legitimate remedy to this outrageous threat to religious liberty.”

Call your representative today and ask them to support bills aimed at repealing the HHS mandate and the restoration of religious freedom to all Americans.

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