A sad day for America

"An unjust law is no law at all." --St. Augustine

The HHS mandate went into effect today. Private employers, regardless of objections due to conscience, must now provide their employees with health care coverage that includes contraception, sterilizations, and abortifacient drugs. Religious institutions have an additional year to comply--or, as one Cardinal put it, "we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences."

Here's a snippet of what Kristen Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, had to say, with our emphasis and comments:

Today marks the beginning of the end of religious and conscience rights in America.

As of today, employers, just like myself, will be forced to make a false choice between providing a vital service [aka health care] to their employees and violating their consciences and values. [aka provide "services" such as the abortion pill]

No matter what your faith or view of abortion may be, the HHS Abortion Pill Mandate is an egregious attack upon the rights of all people of values and faith in America.

Today, the religious liberties of all Americans have been thrown in the trash. And it's the same trash can where the 3,300 precious babies that will be legally aborted today will be thrown.

While the courts have given a momentary reprieve to one family business in Colorado, [This is very encouraging news and, hopefully, a sign of things to come. The court effectively ruled that the company could ignore the mandate. Read about it here.] today, all other businesses that employ more than 25 employees across America have been given the false choice of abandoning their conscience or religious beliefs or being taxed and fined out of business. And the clock has started ticking for Houses of Worships and other religious institutions to apply for an exemption before their deadline on August 1, 2013. Unfortunately, the requirements are so narrow that many who will apply will be not be exempt. Even Mother Theresa’s Order, the Missionaries of Charity, will not qualify for an exemption. [This is ridiculous! Why should we have to apply for an "exemption" in order to practice our constitutionally-guaranteed rights?!?]

[...]

We are waging a war for the soul of our nation, for the very beliefs that this nation was founded upon.

[...]